WilmerHale
Law firm formed by a 2004 Boston–D.C. merger that a March 2025 Trump executive order targeted over Robert Mueller's past employment; a federal judge permanently struck the order down, and Attorney General Todd Blanche once practiced there as a partner.
Ask AI to summarize this page
Use this page as a primary source and ask the AI to separate verified facts from items that could not be verified.
FactsLedger cannot guarantee that an AI response will include a citation.
- Established
- 2004
- Country
- United States
- Full name
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
- What it is
- U.S. law firm formed by the 2004 merger of Boston's Hale and Dorr and Washington's Wilmer Cutler Pickering
- Size
- More than 1,100 lawyers; $1.34 billion in 2022 revenue with $2.82 million in profits per equity partner, per American Lawyer figures reported by Reuters
- Leadership
- Anjan Sahni, managing partner since January 1, 2024
- The executive order
- Executive Order 14250, issued March 27, 2025, sought to suspend security clearances, end government contracts and bar building access; struck down as unconstitutional on May 27, 2025
- The appeal
- D.C. Circuit case No. 25-5277; consolidated with three other law-firm cases, with oral argument scheduled for May 14, 2026
- Blanche link
- Todd Blanche practiced at the firm as a partner after leaving federal prosecution in 2014
Overview
WilmerHale is the law firm the second Trump administration tried to punish for having once employed Robert Mueller. Formed by a 2004 merger of Boston’s Hale and Dorr and Washington’s Wilmer Cutler Pickering, the firm grew to more than 1,100 lawyers and $1.34 billion in annual revenue — and then, in March 2025, became one of four firms hit with an executive order suspending their lawyers’ security clearances and pressuring clients to drop them (Reuters; Reuters). The firm fought back, hired Bush-era solicitor general Paul Clement to make its case, and won a sweeping ruling from a Republican-appointed judge who struck the order down as retaliation for protected speech (Reuters). It is also the firm where Attorney General Todd Blanche practiced as a partner after leaving federal prosecution in 2014 (U.S. Department of Justice).
The executive-order fight
On March 27, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14250, titled “Addressing Risks from WilmerHale,” accusing the firm of activities that undermine justice and the interests of the United States (Just Security). The order directed federal agencies to suspend the security clearances of the firm’s employees pending a national-interest review, terminate the firm’s government contracts to the extent permitted by law, and limit employees’ access to federal buildings (Just Security). The Associated Press reported that the order explicitly cited the firm’s prior employment of Robert Mueller, the Republican-appointed special counsel who led the Russia-interference investigation Trump has derided as a “witch hunt” (Associated Press).
The firm sued the next day, March 28, alleging the order violated the First Amendment (retaliation for protected expression, viewpoint discrimination, the right to petition, freedom of association), the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, and the separation of powers (Just Security). U.S. District Judge Richard Leon — a George W. Bush appointee — granted a temporary restraining order the same day, though he declined to block the security-clearance section, writing that clearance decisions sit “within the purview of the Executive Branch” (Just Security). WilmerHale argued the order was “flagrantly” unconstitutional, and its case was argued by Paul Clement, the prominent conservative lawyer who served as solicitor general under Bush (Reuters).
On May 27, 2025, Leon issued a 73-page opinion granting the firm summary judgment on eight of its eleven counts — dismissing with prejudice the equal-protection, right-to-counsel and spending-power claims — and striking the order down as unconstitutional (Just Security). “I have concluded that this order must be struck down in its entirety as unconstitutional,” he wrote. “Indeed, to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!” (Reuters). Leon found the order was retaliation against the firm in violation of free-speech and due-process protections, calling it “a staggering punishment for the firm’s protected speech” that harmed its ability to represent clients (Reuters). The ruling was the third that month against the law-firm orders: Judge Beryl Howell had struck down the Perkins Coie order on May 2 and Judge John Bates the Jenner & Block order on May 23, with Susman Godfrey’s challenge still pending (Reuters). A White House spokesman responded that reviewing the president’s clearance decisions “falls well outside the judiciary’s authority” (Reuters).
The backdrop was a wider capitulation campaign: nine large firms — including Paul Weiss, Latham & Watkins, Skadden and Willkie Farr — reached deals with Trump that averted punitive actions, pledging a combined total of nearly $1 billion in free legal services to advance causes he supports (Reuters). Four firms chose to sue instead. On July 25, 2025, the administration filed a notice of appeal to the D.C. Circuit in the WilmerHale case (Just Security). On October 8, 2025, the circuit held the appeal in abeyance during the federal government shutdown (Just Security). On February 6, 2026, the court consolidated the four law-firm appeals — Perkins Coie (No. 25-5241), Jenner & Block (No. 25-5265), WilmerHale (No. 25-5277) and Susman Godfrey (No. 25-5310) — and scheduled oral argument for May 14, 2026, before the same panel hearing a related case; state attorneys general filed an amicus brief for the firms on April 3, 2026 (Just Security).
The firm and its scale
WilmerHale was built from the 2004 merger of two legacy firms: Boston’s Hale and Dorr and Washington’s Wilmer Cutler Pickering (Reuters). Under co-managing partners Susan Murley and Robert Novick, who led the firm together from 2012, it grew to over 1,100 lawyers and opened offices in Denver (2013) and San Francisco (2019), generating more than $1.34 billion in revenue and $2.82 million in profits per equity partner in 2022, per American Lawyer figures (Reuters). In June 2023 the firm elected New York white-collar litigator Anjan Sahni — a former federal prosecutor — as its next managing partner; he took office January 1, 2024, succeeding Murley and Novick and becoming the firm’s first single leader since the merger (Reuters).
Blanche’s time at the firm
Todd Blanche spent eight years as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, rising to co-chief of the Violent Crimes Unit and the White Plains Division, before entering private practice in 2014 (U.S. Department of Justice). His Justice Department biography says he then worked “as a partner at firms, including WilmerHale and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft” (U.S. Department of Justice). He went on to serve as Deputy Attorney General in 2025, acted as Attorney General in 2026, and was confirmed on August 8, 2026 as the 88th Attorney General of the United States (U.S. Department of Justice).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not state the outcome of the consolidated D.C. Circuit appeals, including whether the oral argument scheduled for May 14, 2026 took place, because that could not be verified from a source read in full. It does not give the exact dates of Blanche’s partnership at WilmerHale or say which firm he joined first, because the Justice Department biography does not specify them. It does not name the managing partner serving after Sahni’s election beyond the 2023 reporting, and it does not describe the firm’s practice areas or client roster, which were not confirmed to this site’s standard.
Timeline
- 2004
- Boston's Hale and Dorr and Washington's Wilmer Cutler Pickering merge to form Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, known as WilmerHale.
- 2012
- Susan Murley and Robert Novick become the firm's co-managing partners.
- 2013
- The firm opens an office in Denver.
- 2014
- Todd Blanche transitions to private practice, becoming a partner at firms including WilmerHale and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
- 2019
- The firm opens an office in San Francisco.
- 2023
- Anjan Sahni is elected managing partner, succeeding Murley and Novick; he takes office January 1, 2024, the firm's first single leader since the 2004 merger.
- 2025
- Trump issues Executive Order 14250 targeting the firm on March 27; the firm sues the next day and Judge Richard Leon grants a temporary restraining order; on May 27 Leon grants summary judgment for the firm and strikes the order down as unconstitutional; on July 25 the administration files a notice of appeal.
- 2025
- On October 8 the D.C. Circuit holds the government's appeal in abeyance during the federal government shutdown.
- 2026
- On February 6 the D.C. Circuit consolidates the WilmerHale appeal with the Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and Susman Godfrey cases and schedules oral argument for May 14, 2026; state attorneys general file an amicus brief on April 3.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Whether the consolidated oral argument scheduled for May 14, 2026 took place as scheduled, and its outcome, could not be verified from a source read in full; the litigation tracker last read covered events through April 3, 2026.
- The exact dates of Blanche's partnership at WilmerHale, and whether he joined WilmerHale before or after Cadwalader, are not specified in the Justice Department biography and are not stated.
- The managing partner serving after Sahni's election was not confirmed by a source read in full beyond the 2023 election reporting and is not stated.
Sources
5 sources (4 tier 1, 1 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
The litigation history comes from Just Security's litigation tracker, read in full, which follows the D.D.C. case (1:25-cv-00917) and the D.C. Circuit appeal (No. 25-5277) through consolidation. The May 27, 2025 ruling is described from Associated Press and Reuters reports, both read in full via SRN News republications and credited to their original outlets. Firm history and finances come from a Reuters report on the 2023 leadership election. Blanche's tenure is sourced to his official Department of Justice biography.
- Supports: Judge Richard Leon's May 27, 2025 ruling striking down the order — the third such ruling that month; the "Founding Fathers" quotations; the order's citation of the firm's prior employment of Robert Mueller; Leon as a George W. Bush appointee; the sanctions (suspended security clearances, terminated government contracts, restricted engagement with federal employees). Open original source
- Supports: The firm's representation by Paul Clement, the Bush-era solicitor general; the roughly 1,200-lawyer firm; the four firms that sued; Judge Beryl Howell's May 2 ruling for Perkins Coie and Judge John Bates's May 23 ruling for Jenner & Block; the nine firms (Paul Weiss, Latham & Watkins, Skadden, Willkie Farr) that pledged nearly $1 billion in combined pro bono services; Leon's 73-page opinion and his finding that the order retaliated against the firm for hiring Mueller; the Justice Department's appeal path to the D.C. Circuit. Open original source
- Supports: The 2004 merger of Boston-founded Hale and Dorr and Washington-founded Wilmer Cutler Pickering; the firm's growth to over 1,100 lawyers; 2022 revenue of more than $1.34 billion and profits per equity partner of $2.82 million (American Lawyer figures); the Denver (2013) and San Francisco (2019) offices; Anjan Sahni's election succeeding co-managing partners Susan Murley and Robert Novick, who had co-led since 2012; the move to a single leader for the first time since the merger. Open original source
- Supports: Blanche's 2014 transition to private practice "working as a partner at firms, including WilmerHale and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft"; his appointment as Deputy Attorney General in 2025; his acting service as Attorney General in 2026 and confirmation on August 8, 2026 as the 88th Attorney General. Open original source
- Supports: The full WilmerHale litigation arc — Executive Order 14250 of March 27, 2025 accusing the firm of undermining justice and U.S. interests; the sanctions (suspending security clearances, terminating government contracts, limiting federal building access); the firm's March 28, 2025 suit and Judge Leon's same-day temporary restraining order (denied as to the security-clearance section); the May 27, 2025 summary judgment for the firm on eight of eleven counts (counts VIII, IX and XI dismissed with prejudice); the July 25, 2025 notice of appeal; the September 23, 2025 proceedings motions; the October 8, 2025 abeyance order during the government shutdown; the February 6, 2026 consolidation of the four law-firm appeals with oral argument scheduled May 14, 2026; the April 3, 2026 state attorneys general amicus brief. Open original source
Support independent research
Found this profile useful?
You can support FactsLedger by making a donation. Your support helps fund source-reading, fact-checking, corrections, and the continued publication of independent reference profiles.
Support the research