Dear John,
Lawyers Defending American Democracy is proud to have filed an amicus brief in support of the legal challenge filed by Perkins Coie in response to a sweeping executive order issued by the President of the United States against the law firm. At its core, the presidential edict is a draconian effort to prevent the firm from representing clients the President does not like and taking positions that are contrary to his views. As LDAD stated in its brief, the order “represents an unmistakable attempt to limit the legal accountability of the President through intimidation of the legal profession.”
To read LDAD's amicus brief and press release, click here.
LDAD is continually speaking out against the President’s efforts to destroy the rule of law by issuing (or merely threatening to issue) executive orders against law firms that are based in retribution against past clients and employees. We are dismayed that several of the most powerful firms in the world have capitulated to unconstitutional edicts rather than fight to preserve basic tenets of the legal profession.
As LDAD executive committee chair, Evan Falchuk, wrote for the Fulcrum, “If lawyers won’t speak out now, when their profession is under an illegal and unconstitutional attack, when will they? If lawyers won’t fight for themselves, who will? And if lawyers cave in, who will be left to fight for the rest of us?” See: It’s time to defend the guardrails of democracy
An article in Bloomberg Law described the likely impact on the Skadden Fellows program, a formerly prestigious fellowship that attracted highly talented young lawyers, many of whom were seeking careers in public service. Executive Director Lauren Stiller Rikleen was quoted in a Bloomberg Law article describing the impacts of Skadden’s capitulation to the President on this Fellowship: Skadden's Trump Deal Spells Change for Prestigious Fellowship
We are honored by the kind words of UCLA School of Law Professor Scott Cummings in an interview by Harvard Law School’s David Wilkins on the topic of democratic backsliding in the United States: “And there are organization that are very courageous, like Lawyers Defending American Democracy, which is trying to organize lawyers and elite law firms and bars to take a stand.”
To read the interview, see: Why American Lawyers Must Fight Democratic Backsliding
Thank you for your continued support of our work. Your donations help us expand our reach in these difficult times. To donate to LDAD, a 501(c)(3) organization, please click here.
Lawyers Defending American Democracy
