In a seismic admission of defeat, the Trump administration's Justice Department is abandoning its legal defense of an executive order that would have punished law firms that had represented clients against his prior policies or legal woes.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the DOJ is expected to "drop its appeals of four trial-court rulings that struck down President Trump’s actions against law firms Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey."

Trump's orders had blocked these law firms from doing business with the federal government or from obtaining security clearances. Experts widely criticized it as undermining the centuries-old principle that everyone has a right to legal counsel and that lawyers should not be punished solely for disagreements with their clients.

Several other law firms cut deals with the Trump administration to avoid similar orders punishing them, which included commitments to provide pro bono aid to various causes Trump agrees with and eliminate diversity policies in their offices.

After cutting those deals, however, many of those law firms realized the terms of the agreements were either unenforceable or not what they had believed they were agreeing to, and quietly abandoned them.

As The New York Times noted in May after one of the firms’ court victories, “The ruling seemed to validate the strategy, embraced by a minority of firms, of fighting the administration instead of caving to a pressure campaign and making deals with Mr. Trump to avoid persecution.”

Now, the strategy appears even smarter: My MS NOW colleagues Lisa Rubin and Jesse Rodriguez reported that the Trump administration has signaled its intention to withdraw its appeal of the earlier losses. Soon after, The Wall Street Journal similarly reported:

The Trump administration plans to abandon its defense of the president’s executive orders sanctioning several law firms, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department as soon as Monday is expected to drop its appeals of four trial-court rulings that struck down President Trump’s actions against law firms Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey.

For the four firms that already fought and won against the White House, the Justice Department’s apparent decision to throw in the towel leaves little doubt that they pursued the right and effective course. These firms saw unjust bullying; they saw other firms capitulate; they decided instead to stand their ground; and they’re in the process of winning the overall fight.

Those looking for evidence to bolster the “when you fight, you win” thesis need look no further than these developments.

As for the firms that decided instead to try to appease Trump, the consequences have been quite dramatic. Legal giants such as Paul Weiss, for example, which was the first firm to negotiate a deal with Team Trump, has lost a variety of partners over its strategy, as well as notable clients. Other firms that caved to the Republican administration have faced related challenges......

I keep waiting for at least one of the firms that went along with the White House to declare, “Upon further reflection, we’ve decided to fight back against the White House offensive and abandon the earlier deal that was reached under unjust circumstances. The president asked too much while threatening too much, and we’ve decided to take our chances.”

As things stand, if one these firms were to take such a step, they’d not just be better off within the industry — they’d also proceed with the confidence that they’d prevail over the administration, just as Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie and Susman Godfrey already have. Watch this space.