{"id":163139,"date":"2026-09-17T16:04:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T00:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/09\/17\/jeff-clark-announces-new-law-firm-to-fight-barfare-while-he-waits-on-disbarment\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T16:04:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T00:04:06","slug":"jeff-clark-announces-new-law-firm-to-fight-barfare-while-he-waits-on-disbarment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/09\/17\/jeff-clark-announces-new-law-firm-to-fight-barfare-while-he-waits-on-disbarment\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Clark Announces New Law Firm To Fight \u2018Barfare\u2019 While He Waits On Disbarment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeff Clark informed the masses that he\u2019s starting up a new law firm. Like any firm boasting the level of seriousness Jeff Clark brings, the announcement and a call for applications went up on X, America\u2019s premier source for racial slurs<\/a>. Though if recruiting lawyers on X is good enough for the Department of Justice<\/a>, it\u2019s more than sufficient for a new right-wing vanity project. It\u2019s not easy finding good help these days\u2026 just ask the FBI how hard it is to hitch your wagon to the right horse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course, Clark\u2019s own law license presents some pesky obstacles to this new endeavor. The D.C. Bar\u2019s Office of Disciplinary Counsel opened a probe into Clark\u2019s work in 2022 predicated upon a complaint received from the Senate Judiciary Committee. A hearing committee found in 2024 that Clark violated the rule against dishonesty<\/a>. In July 2025, the Board recommended disbarment, arguing that nothing short of it would sufficiently address the misconduct<\/a>. That recommendation is still sitting in front of the D.C. Court of Appeals. In the meantime, the DOJ has swooped in to challenge the local bar\u2019s authority to regulate the profession<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In any event, most new law firms aren\u2019t fronted by guys on the precipice of disbarment. <\/p>\n

Clark achieved conservative fame when he tried to finagle himself into the Acting Attorney General job in the waning days of the first Trump administration. The then-Assistant Attorney General responsible for environmental cases had established himself as the administration lawyer willing to entertain using the DOJ to disrupt the lawful transition of power. In the Oval Office on January 3, 2021, with Clark angling to be installed as Acting Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue told him<\/a> to go back to his office and they\u2019d call him when there\u2019s an oil spill \u2014 objectively a hilarious way to be told you can\u2019t have the job you want.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s going to start a new firm:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So it will \u201ccombat government weaponization of all types, but especially abuses of congressional and state legislative branch oversight,\u201d OK, combat that\u2026 \u201cperversion of bar discipline processes,\u201d fine\u2026 that seems like something you\u2019d fight, \u201cand securing the dismissal of bogus criminal indictments.\u201d Did he forget that this sentence was about combating things? Just write \u201cbogus criminal indictments\u201d then. Mistakes happen, but for a law firm launch announcement, one would expect a little more proofreading. <\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s why he needs to hire people so quickly. On the other hand, AI is freakishly obsessed with parallelism, so at least we know he didn\u2019t outsource this to a bot. No, this was a grammatical cock up all his own.<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, the Oversight Project job listing page notes that candidates for this position must hold an \u201cActive bar admission in good standing.\u201d Insert sad trombone sound effect here. The listing also includes this recruitment poster \u2014 because, again, serious<\/em> legal institutions always search for attorney talent with\u2026 whatever the hell this is:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was the prompt for the cursed AI generator that threw this together? \u201cGive us a lawyer ad, but make it Homelander with ski goggles while holding a glowing lunchbox \u2014 but definitely not by the handle \u2014 and also explosions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oversight Project is a Heritage Foundation spin-off filing amicus briefs in various right-wing culture war cases like opposing the consent decree following the police slaying of Breonna Taylor or fighting Blue state redistricting while remaining curiously silent about Red state maps. Clark serves as the vice president of litigation at the Oversight Project. It\u2019s not exactly clear what separates this \u201cnew law firm\u201d from the Oversight Project\u2019s existing litigation work.<\/p>\n

\n

So, if you\u2019re a lawyer at any stage of your career, who is patriotically and publicly spirited and who is fed up with Lawfare, Barfare, Weaponization, and efforts to turn The Law into mechanized Marxism on the move\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m guessing \u201cmechanized Marxism on the move\u201d sounded like poetry in his head.<\/p>\n

But \u201cBarfare\u201d \u2014 a new term \u2014 is clearly becoming the boogeyman in the MAGA legal circles. Trump aligned lawyers can lie to tribunals<\/a> and violate court orders<\/a> and launch attacks on federal judges<\/a>, knowing that the administration stands ready to pardon them \u2014 as Clark did, when Trump pardoned him<\/a>. And there\u2019s always a legal job available for a former administration lawyer who can promise to bring in enough money. The only<\/em> avenue of accountability that Trump and the Federalist Society professional network can\u2019t control is the law licensing process. That\u2019s why the most important task for lawyers seeking to protect the public and restore the integrity of the profession is the active investigation and disbarment of government lawyers breaching ethical rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some government lawyers have figured this out and started heading for the door<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why the DOJ launched an aggressive effort to rewrite the rules to shield the law licenses of government lawyers from scrutiny<\/a> and subsequently interjected itself into Clark\u2019s case. The government argues that administration lawyers can\u2019t be worried that their actions might carry ethical consequences after they leave office, even though hundreds of former government lawyers have gone on record that they managed to do their jobs just fine without lying to courts or attempting coups<\/a>. That \u201cBarfare\u201d is a hot topic of conversation confirms that Trump aligned lawyers understand professional responsibility as the final line of defense the legal community has against the administration. First the government threw itself into the fight, and now conservatives are building up outside counsel resources to fight those battles.<\/p>\n

And, hey, the firm\u2019s founder is already the textbook client.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: DOJ Sues D.C. Bar For Holding Trump Lawyers To Ethical Rules<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Jeff Clark Announces New Law Firm To Fight \u2018Barfare\u2019 While He Waits On Disbarment<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Yuri Gripas-Pool\/Getty Images)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeff Clark informed the masses that he\u2019s starting up a new law firm. Like any firm boasting the level of seriousness Jeff Clark brings, the announcement and a call for applications went up on X, America\u2019s premier source for racial slurs<\/a>. Though if recruiting lawyers on X is good enough for the Department of Justice<\/a>, it\u2019s more than sufficient for a new right-wing vanity project. It\u2019s not easy finding good help these days\u2026 just ask the FBI how hard it is to hitch your wagon to the right horse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course, Clark\u2019s own law license presents some pesky obstacles to this new endeavor. The D.C. Bar\u2019s Office of Disciplinary Counsel opened a probe into Clark\u2019s work in 2022 predicated upon a complaint received from the Senate Judiciary Committee. A hearing committee found in 2024 that Clark violated the rule against dishonesty<\/a>. In July 2025, the Board recommended disbarment, arguing that nothing short of it would sufficiently address the misconduct<\/a>. That recommendation is still sitting in front of the D.C. Court of Appeals. In the meantime, the DOJ has swooped in to challenge the local bar\u2019s authority to regulate the profession<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In any event, most new law firms aren\u2019t fronted by guys on the precipice of disbarment. <\/p>\n

Clark achieved conservative fame when he tried to finagle himself into the Acting Attorney General job in the waning days of the first Trump administration. The then-Assistant Attorney General responsible for environmental cases had established himself as the administration lawyer willing to entertain using the DOJ to disrupt the lawful transition of power. In the Oval Office on January 3, 2021, with Clark angling to be installed as Acting Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue told him<\/a> to go back to his office and they\u2019d call him when there\u2019s an oil spill \u2014 objectively a hilarious way to be told you can\u2019t have the job you want.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s going to start a new firm:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So it will \u201ccombat government weaponization of all types, but especially abuses of congressional and state legislative branch oversight,\u201d OK, combat that\u2026 \u201cperversion of bar discipline processes,\u201d fine\u2026 that seems like something you\u2019d fight, \u201cand securing the dismissal of bogus criminal indictments.\u201d Did he forget that this sentence was about combating things? Just write \u201cbogus criminal indictments\u201d then. Mistakes happen, but for a law firm launch announcement, one would expect a little more proofreading. <\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s why he needs to hire people so quickly. On the other hand, AI is freakishly obsessed with parallelism, so at least we know he didn\u2019t outsource this to a bot. No, this was a grammatical cock up all his own.<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, the Oversight Project job listing page notes that candidates for this position must hold an \u201cActive bar admission in good standing.\u201d Insert sad trombone sound effect here. The listing also includes this recruitment poster \u2014 because, again, serious<\/em> legal institutions always search for attorney talent with\u2026 whatever the hell this is:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was the prompt for the cursed AI generator that threw this together? \u201cGive us a lawyer ad, but make it Homelander with ski goggles while holding a glowing lunchbox \u2014 but definitely not by the handle \u2014 and also explosions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oversight Project is a Heritage Foundation spin-off filing amicus briefs in various right-wing culture war cases like opposing the consent decree following the police slaying of Breonna Taylor or fighting Blue state redistricting while remaining curiously silent about Red state maps. Clark serves as the vice president of litigation at the Oversight Project. It\u2019s not exactly clear what separates this \u201cnew law firm\u201d from the Oversight Project\u2019s existing litigation work.<\/p>\n

\n

So, if you\u2019re a lawyer at any stage of your career, who is patriotically and publicly spirited and who is fed up with Lawfare, Barfare, Weaponization, and efforts to turn The Law into mechanized Marxism on the move\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m guessing \u201cmechanized Marxism on the move\u201d sounded like poetry in his head.<\/p>\n

But \u201cBarfare\u201d \u2014 a new term \u2014 is clearly becoming the boogeyman in the MAGA legal circles. Trump aligned lawyers can lie to tribunals<\/a> and violate court orders<\/a> and launch attacks on federal judges<\/a>, knowing that the administration stands ready to pardon them \u2014 as Clark did, when Trump pardoned him<\/a>. And there\u2019s always a legal job available for a former administration lawyer who can promise to bring in enough money. The only<\/em> avenue of accountability that Trump and the Federalist Society professional network can\u2019t control is the law licensing process. That\u2019s why the most important task for lawyers seeking to protect the public and restore the integrity of the profession is the active investigation and disbarment of government lawyers breaching ethical rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some government lawyers have figured this out and started heading for the door<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why the DOJ launched an aggressive effort to rewrite the rules to shield the law licenses of government lawyers from scrutiny<\/a> and subsequently interjected itself into Clark\u2019s case. The government argues that administration lawyers can\u2019t be worried that their actions might carry ethical consequences after they leave office, even though hundreds of former government lawyers have gone on record that they managed to do their jobs just fine without lying to courts or attempting coups<\/a>. That \u201cBarfare\u201d is a hot topic of conversation confirms that Trump aligned lawyers understand professional responsibility as the final line of defense the legal community has against the administration. First the government threw itself into the fight, and now conservatives are building up outside counsel resources to fight those battles.<\/p>\n

And, hey, the firm\u2019s founder is already the textbook client.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: DOJ Sues D.C. Bar For Holding Trump Lawyers To Ethical Rules<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeff Clark informed the masses that he\u2019s starting up a new law firm. Like any firm boasting the level of seriousness Jeff Clark brings, the announcement and a call for applications went up on X, America\u2019s premier source for racial slurs. Though if recruiting lawyers on X is good enough for the Department of Justice, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":163092,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}