Lawsuit Filed After DOJ Cancels ABA’s Grants That Help Domestic Violence Survivors 

Washington, D.C. – The American Bar Association (ABA), which is one of the largest voluntary association of lawyers and legal professionals in the world, today filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ), asking a federal court to stop the cancellation of grants the organization relies on to train and provide technical assistance to lawyers and judges who work with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

These grants, and the important work they support, were abruptly canceled on April 10, 2025 – a day after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memorandum titled “Engagement with the American Bar Association,” which singled out the ABA for what Blanche called “support of activist causes” and the ABA’s litigation against the federal government. In response to those constitutionally protected activities, Blanche imposed new and extraordinary limits on DOJ employees’ engagement with the ABA. The ABA’s lawsuit, American Bar Association v. Department of Justice, et. al, challenges DOJ’s termination of the ABA’s grants on the heels of that memorandum as retaliation in violation of the First Amendment and unlawful under the Administrative Procedures Act. The lawsuit asks a court to intervene in the matter to stop the termination of the grants. The ABA is represented by Democracy Forward. 

“Survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their families rely on trauma-informed attorneys to help stay safe. For decades, the American Bar Association has provided critical training to lawyers to enable the provision of essential legal services to survivors. Yet now the ABA, which has enjoyed a partnership with the DOJ for over a century, is being unconstitutionally targeted by the Department because of the ABA’s longstanding and unchanged stance on the importance of the rule of law and our Constitution,” said Skye Perryman, President & CEO of Democracy Forward. “Our team is honored to represent the ABA in this case and will continue to defend the right to petition the government free from retaliation.”

The ABA had for decades received grants from DOJ to advance the goals of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA is a landmark piece of legislation that sought to improve criminal legal and community-based responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the United States. The passage of VAWA in 1994 and its reauthorization in 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2022 have changed the landscape for victims who once suffered in silence. 

Read the filing here.

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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.