The U.S. Department of Justice is supporting a South Florida startup’s antitrust lawsuit against the state bar, adding its voice to a growing debate over how the bar views legal tech companies.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division wrote in support of Tikd, a Coral Gables-based company that contracts attorneys to fight minor traffic tickets for drivers who submit them via a smartphone platform. Main Justice’s statement of interest Monday said the Florida Bar is incorrectly claiming immunity from the lawsuit as an arm of the state’s judicial branch.