Suit Alleges EEOC is Operating Without Authority, Improperly Weaponizing Civil Rights Laws to Attack Legal Profession

Washington, D.C. – A group of law students responding to the Trump administration’s ongoing assault on the legal profession and attempt to turn civil rights laws on their head has filed a new lawsuit, which asks a federal court to stop the handover of sensitive personal data for attorneys who work or applied to work at 20 law firms currently being targeted by the Trump administration. The suit, Doe 1 et. al. v. EEOC, was filed by Democracy Forward in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. 

Following President Trump’s Executive Order on March 6 targeting the law firm of Perkins Coie and directing the head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to review practices at large, influential, industry-leading law firms that have attempted to ensure their talent pools are truly reflective of the profession, on March 17, 2025, acting head of the EEOC Andrea Lucas sent letters to 20 law firms, demanding that the firms hand over detailed personal information about their applicants and employees, dating back 6-10 years. The letters are part of an administration-wide effort instituted by President Trump to threaten law firms as a way of preventing them from challenging the current administration.

“The President’s ongoing assault on the legal profession threatens core pillars of our democracy,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “After weeks of unlawful targeting and bullying law firms and members of the judiciary, the Trump administration is now weaponizing the EEOC to target the next generation of attorneys. Thanks to brave clients like the law students we are representing in this case and our attorneys and staff at Democracy Forward, this administration’s lawlessness will continue to be challenged at every opportunity in order to protect people from their harmful agenda.”

The sensitive data demanded by Lucas as part of her unlawful investigation includes law students’ names, sex, race, contact information, academic performance, compensation, participation in affinity groups, and numerous details about their employment history. The students affected by this breach of privacy are asking that the Court declare acting chair Lucas’ investigation unlawful, stop her from taking any further action to obtain employee information from the law firms without following the proper statutory processes, and finally to order the EEOC to destroy any data that they have collected to date.

The Trump administration has engaged in an assault on law firms and the judiciary as an increasing number of judges have ruled against their lawless behavior. Earlier this month, Democracy Forward organized thousands of lawyers to send a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging her to reject political attacks on attorneys and law firms. The letter represented a broad coalition of legal professionals from conservatives to progressives, united in concern that recent attacks—many stemming from the Project 2025 playbook—are part of an effort to scare people from exercising their right to access the justice system.

Read the full complaint 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.