Dear John,
For the past 16 years, an international coalition has observed the Day of the Endangered Lawyer on January 24, commemorating the 1977 murders of four labor lawyers and an administrative officer by extremists in Spain. Over time, observances of this day have grown across the globe to create awareness of the risks that lawyers confront simply for doing their job.
Each year, a coalition of legal associations, bar associations, and other networks selects one country to draw attention to the challenges facing lawyers who practice there. Countries that have been the focus of this annual observance include Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Belarus.
In 2026, the country selected by this international coalition as the focus of the Day of the Endangered Lawyer is the United States. Let that sink in for a minute.
The Report of the Coalition for the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer states that its selection of the US is based on an escalation in legal, political, symbolic, and institutional pressures: “The choice underscores the principle that no jurisdiction, however entrenched in rule of law rhetoric, is immune to backsliding.”
This Report starkly conveys the sad state of the legal profession in this country. It highlights the administration’s executive orders, noting that they are “wielded as instruments of political power against those who litigate against or criticize the government.” And it calls out the politicized criticism directed at judges that threatens both judicial independence and the judges themselves, along with their families.
The Report also emphasizes the self-censorship that many law firms – including those who could formerly be counted on to be “bold in taking public-interest or politically risky cases” – are instead surrendering to the “chilling effect on legal advocacy.”
Its detailed recommendations emphasize that the complexity of the risks to the profession warrants systemic reforms. The coalition calls on federal and state legislatures to engage in hearings, oversight, and legislation, and similarly asks the executive branch to cease its many current practices that are harming the profession. It urges safeguards to protect the judiciary and suggests additional measures that can be implemented by international and civil society organizations, bar associations, law schools, and the media.
The Report concludes with these prophetic words:
“An attack on the independence of the legal profession is an attack on the core of democracy. Silence and inaction in this situation are equivalent to complicity. As the global legal community, we must show solidarity and use every tool available to defend our American colleagues and the fundamental principles we have sworn to uphold. The fate of the rule of law in the US – and worldwide – depends on our collective action today.”
Will the world’s largest law firms, the country’s great law schools, and corporate leaders and in-house counsel continue to maintain their silence in the face of this searing international indictment of our profession today? Will Congress remain supine, hoping the storm will pass over?
How these institutions respond to the humiliation of this designation will determine both the fate of the legal profession in America and the rule of law.
Thank you,
Lawyers Defending American Democracy
