Press Release: Former DOJ Lawyers Launch Civil Service Law Center to Represent Federal Workers in Challenges to Trump Administration

May 6, 2025 – Working to address the ongoing efforts by DOGE and the Trump Administration to dismantle the federal workforce, two recent DOJ alumni have formed a new public interest oriented law firm, Civil Service Law Center LLP. This new effort will challenge in federal court the Administration’s unlawful tactics, adding to the efforts of nonprofits and other organizations stepping up to meet the moment.

The Civil Service Law Center is co-founded by Clayton L. Bailey and Jessica Merry Samuels, both of whom recently left the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The Trump Administration’s executive orders targeting law firms have created a culture of fear and made it more difficult for people in need of counsel—including federal employees—to find justice,” said Bailey. “We have been inspired by the growing number of lawyers creating new firms and organizations to protect individual rights and the rule of law, and we have launched the Civil Service Law Center to help contribute to those efforts.”

“Defending public servants who work every day to improve people’s lives should not be a partisan issue,” said Samuels. “Nor should demanding the government act lawfully and within the bounds set by Congress.”

Co-founders Bailey and Samuels bring a solid mix of public and private legal experience. Clayton L. Bailey [University of Virginia School of Law] most recently served in the Department of Justice’s Federal Programs Branch, where he defended Biden Administration policies and handled some of the government’s most complex employment matters. Jessica Merry Samuels [Yale Law School] joins from the appellate section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. She previously served in the Office of the Virginia Attorney General, helping lead multi-state litigation against the first Trump Administration. Before their time at DOJ, Bailey and Samuels both worked as litigators for the D.C. law firm Covington & Burling LLP.

“The Civil Service Law Center is dedicated to helping federal workers and members of the public who have been harmed by the Administration’s unfair and unlawful attacks on the civil service,” said Bailey. “We are proud to support the civil servants who have dedicated their careers to making our country a better place.”