New Filing Seeks to Protect All Employees From Weaponization of Civil Rights Laws 

Washington, D.C. – The group of law students taking on the Trump administration’s ongoing assault on the legal profession and attempt to undermine civil rights laws has updated its ongoing lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to expand to a class action complaint, covering thousands of attorneys and seeking to stop the handover of sensitive personal data for attorneys who have worked 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 EEOC 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 to threaten law firms as a way of preventing them from challenging the federal government, and they threaten the rights of thousands of attorneys who have worked at or applied to work at the 20 law firms targeted by the president. Today’s amended complaint seeks to cover all affected individuals, not just those bringing the suit.

“The President’s ongoing assault on the legal profession threatens core pillars of our democracy,” said Sarah Goetz, Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward. “The Trump administration is weaponizing the EEOC to target the next generation of attorneys, and thousands of attorneys are affected. 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 lawyers’ 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. In April of this year, 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.

The legal team at Democracy Forward on this case includes Sarah Goetz, Audrey Wiggins,

Orlando Economos, Jennifer Fountain Connolly, Sunu P. Chandy and Skye Perryman.

Read the full amended 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.