The U.S. Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal on 30 June, seeking to overturn a federal court decision that struck down former President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at the law firm Perkins Coie. The appeal, lodged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit one day before the filing deadline, challenges a 2 May ruling by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell that declared Executive Order 14230 unconstitutional and permanently enjoined the government from enforcing it. Judge Howell held that the order—issued in March and directed at Perkins Coie for representing clients and causes disliked by the former president—violated the First, Fifth and Sixth Amendments by retaliating against protected speech and association. Her 102-page opinion was the first of four district-court decisions rejecting similar executive actions targeting law firms; the other three orders have also been blocked. By proceeding with the appeal, the Justice Department signals that it intends to defend the legality of Trump-era measures despite a string of defeats at the trial-court level. The D.C. Circuit will now decide whether the injunction against implementing or enforcing Executive Order 14230 should stand. No briefing schedule has yet been set.