BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A memo President Donald Trump issued Saturday directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous lawsuits against the federal government.

Western New York immigration attorney Rosanna Berardi said while fraud can be a concern, particularly in asylum cases, it's disturbing the administration is preemptively threatening action against attorneys.

"It felt like a parent yelling at a child saying don't do anything to challenge me," Berardi said.

She said attorneys are highly regulated and judges can already issue sanctions for truly frivolous or unethical litigation. However, Berardi said Trump's memo can have a chilling effect for firms taking on cases that could draw the ire of the government.

"The legal system is not perfect but we all have a job to do and most of us do it pretty well and within the ethical rules and to me this is just very disappointing," Berardi said.

New York County Lawyers Association President-Elect Richard Swanson said smaller firms like Berardi's will not have the resources to push back if the government targets them. However, he said the memo is the latest in a series of actions targeting the country's largest firms as well.

"Whether it's a small immigration firm or a large firm's pro bono program or a large firm's paying clients, it's just designed to have a chilling effect, like I said to the point of getting down to 32 degrees and freezing things," Swanson said.

The memo suggested new punishments for practices the attorney general identifies as misconduct, including revoking security clearances and terminating government contracts. Swanson said bar associations including his are leading the opposition.

"I'd like to see big law be much more active as I've indicated and we're prepared to try to take the place of that in the meantime while they're getting the backbone that's required to do that," he said.

Berardi said, despite her concerns, she has no plans to change the way she does business.

"We take cases that we believe in that we know are proveable and this will not stop us from doing anything that we haven't done in the last 20 years," she said.

Attorneys are also concerned about the recently announced deal the Paul, Weiss firm made with the Trump adminsitration after an executive order specifically targeted its attorneys, which included a promise to do $40 million in pro bono work on causes backed by the administration. Swanson said Paul, Weiss is large, respected and historically willing to take on difficult cases and the deal was unsettling to many in the legal community.

He said this latest memo, which is the broadest so far represents an escalating effort by the president to undermine the judiciary.