DOJ seeks to restore Trump's executive orders targeting law firms

The U.S. Justice Department is seeking the reinstatement of President Donald Trump's executive orders that targeted a number of major law firms, a move that reverses the earlier position of the government, which had sought to dismiss the cases in court.

In a new filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the government lawyers asked the appeals court to reinstate the government's appeals of the lower court rulings that had blocked the Trump administration's executive orders. The lower court judges had declared the orders as unconstitutional and had barred them from taking effect.

The Trump administration's executive orders targeted a number of major law firms, including Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, and Susman Godfrey, for taking cases or clients that were opposed to the policies of President Trump. 

The law firms had faced the threat of being penalized by the government for representing clients who were opposed to the policies of the Trump administration.

The government had earlier informed the appeals court of its intention to dismiss the cases, but in a surprising move, the government lawyers have now asked the appeals court to reinstate the appeals.