Photo by Craig Hudson for The Washington Post.
Partner Eve Hill was quoted as a legal authority in The Washington Post about smaller firms like Brown, Goldstein & Levy carrying much more of the burden of high-stakes legal challenges, based on The Post’s reporting that large law firms are far less likely to challenge President Donald Trump’s policies in his second term than they were during his first.
The Post reported that smaller law firms have taken on most of the work in the nearly 400 lawsuits filed between January and mid-September. Trump signed more than 200 Executive Orders over that time, which is well above the count from the first eight months of his first term.
Unfortunately, smaller firms such as BGL, with about 20 attorneys, can’t help all people who say they have been harmed by the administration’s directives.
“They beg us,” said Eve, who represents federal employees, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities suing the government. “They say, ‘I’m going to lose my job and my home. …I’m going to lose my family.’”
Not only are fewer cases being brought by large firms, but the biggest firms also make up a reduced share of those getting involved in litigation against the government. Nearly 90% of firms suing the government during Trump’s second term through mid-September employ fewer than 500 lawyers, an increase in small- and medium-sized law firms’ involvement from 60% during the same stretch of the president’s first term, according to The Post.
The Post shared in the article that BGL, which is currently challenging the administration in multiple class-action lawsuits, fields dozens of calls a week from federal employees and others seeking assistance. BGL hears from people who say they have been desperate to find representation, citing a lack of available lawyers. In some cases, the grievances relate to students whose educational services are in jeopardy.
“You think about the long-term effects of that, and you’re really depressed,” Eve told The Post.
Earlier this year, BGL managing partner Jessie Weber shared similar sentiments to Eve’s on the Slate podcast, Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick, and in The Daily Record, encouraging others in the legal profession, especially those in larger law firms, to take a stand against the administration’s unlawful actions.
“[I]t’s not enough for firms just to say nothing, even if they’re not capitulating,” Jessie said on the podcast “I really think the whole profession needs to be speaking in a unified voice, making sure the public and non-lawyers understand how dangerous this is in terms of our rule of law, our Constitution and ultimately our democracy.”
In 2025, Eve has pursued multiple lawsuits – including class actions – challenging the Trump administration’s overreach and violation of the law. Earlier this year, Eve won a temporary restraining order on behalf of transgender women in federal correctional facilities, challenging the Trump administration’s Executive Order aimed to transfer them to men’s facilities and cease medical care. Read more about this victory here.
Eve Hill is one of the nation’s leading civil rights lawyers, known especially for her work with clients with disabilities and LGBTQ+ clients. She has been recognized by Law360 as one of just 12 “Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” for 2023, as well as by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America (2022, 2023, and 2024). Her wide-ranging experience complements Brown, Goldstein & Levy’s decades of dedication to high-impact disability rights cases and its advocacy on behalf of individuals with disabilities and their families. Eve also leads Inclusivity, BGL’s Strategic Consulting Group, which works with organizations to promote the education, engagement, and employment of people with disabilities. Learn more about Eve here.
Read the full story from The Washington Post here.
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.