(Reuters) -Two U.S. judges temporarily blocked key parts of Donald Trump's executive orders targeting Jenner & Block and WilmerHale on Friday as the prominent law firms challenged the Republican president in court while another one, Skadden Arps, cut a deal with the White House to avoid a similar directive.

Calling parts of Trump's order targeting Jenner & Block reprehensible and disturbing, Washington-based U.S. District Judge John Bates blocked portions of it that sought to cancel federal contracts held by the firm's clients and to restrict its access by its lawyers to federal buildings and officials.

Bates also said Trump's order appeared to bar lawyers at the firm from entering federal courthouses, which are managed by the U.S. government's executive branch.

"Considering the firm-wide effects of the executive order, it threatens the existence of the firm," Bates added.

Separately, Washington-based U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, handling the WilmerHale case, called Trump's order retaliatory and granted the firm's request to block parts of the directive intended to restrict its access to U.S. government buildings and officials. Leon denied WilmerHale's request to block a section that suspended security clearances held by any lawyers at the firm.

Jenner & Block and WilmerHale sued Trump's administration earlier on Friday, escalating a clash between the president and a large swath of the legal profession. The firms said Trump's orders violated the U.S. Constitution's protections for free expression and due process and were meant to punish opposition to the president and his administration.

Jenner & Block said in a statement after the judge ruled: "Consistent with the law, the court has agreed that this is an unconstitutional executive order holding no legal weight."

Bates called Trump's Jenner & Block order "disturbing" in how it targeted the firm in part based on its pro bono representation of transgender individuals and immigrants. The judge also called much of the opening section of Trump's order - the part in which he accused the firm of various misdeeds - "reprehensible."

"Our legal system relies on our lawyers who advocate zealously for all clients," Bates said.

In the WilmerHale case, Leon wrote in his order, "The injuries to plaintiff here would be severe and would spill over to its clients and the justice system at large. The public interest demands protecting against harms of this magnitude."

WilmerHale said in a statement afterward: "We appreciate the court's swift action to preserve our clients' right to counsel and acknowledgement of the unconstitutional nature of the executive order and its chilling effect on the legal system."

'CERTAINLY MAY BE MORE'

Trump to date has signed executive orders targeting five firms, with three of the firms suing Trump in response.

"We should expect that more are going to come, shouldn't we?" Bates asked before he ruled.

"There certainly may be more," Justice Department attorney Richard Lawson responded.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell on March 12 temporarily blocked most of an earlier executive order Trump issued against the firm Perkins Coie, finding Trump's actions were unconstitutional.

At a White House event earlier on Friday, Trump said Skadden Arps agreed to dedicate $100 million in free legal services to mutually agreed projects benefiting veterans and other groups. The firm also committed to what Trump called merit-based hiring and retention of employees.

Skadden Executive Partner Jeremy London said in a statement that it had engaged proactively with Trump in the interests of clients, employees and the firm.

Both WilmerHale and Jenner have ties to lawyers who were involved in former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation during Trump's first term in office that detailed contacts between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russians as well as Moscow's interference in that year's election. Trump called that investigation, and several others that have targeted him, a "witch hunt."

The White House said in a statement on Friday that law firms had "weaponized the legal process to try to punish and jail their political opponents."

Trump's executive orders are "lawful directives to ensure that the President's agenda is implemented and that law firms comply with the law," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said.

PAUL WEISS DEAL

The lawsuits brought on Friday referred to a deal Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss struck with the White House to rescind a similar executive order. Paul Weiss agreed to dedicate $40 million in free legal services to "mutually agreed" causes supported by the administration.

The judge in the Perkins Coie suit noted that Trump's order cited its work for the campaign of his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Trump's orders against WilmerHale and Jenner & Block also focused on the 2016 race, citing WilmerHale's ties to Mueller. The executive order against Jenner & Block cited its past employment of Andrew Weissmann, a top federal prosecutor involved in Mueller's investigation.

WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie are among more than a dozen large firms representing clients in pending lawsuits against the administration. Jenner's cases include one seeking to protect transgender rights.

WilmerHale represents a group of inspectors general who allege the administration illegally ousted them. The firm also played a key role in lawsuits against the prior Trump administration.

Trump's executive orders sought to terminate federal contracts held by the law firms' clients if the firms had any role in them. Jenner's lawsuit said more than 40% of its revenue over the last five years comes from government contractors, subcontractors or affiliates. The firm said several of its clients were worried their work with Jenner could affect their relationship with the federal government.

WilmerHale in its lawsuit said Trump's order "will inevitably cause extensive, lasting damage to WilmerHale's current and future business prospects."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond, Mike Scarcella and Andrew Goudsward; Additional reporting by Sara Merken and Jonathan Stempel in New York and David Thomas in Chicago and Mike Scarcella; Editing by Will Dunham, David Bario, Bill Berkrot, Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)