OUR MISSION

TIMELINE: Key Moments in our History

For the 50th Reunion of Harvard Law School's  Class of ’68, Scott Harshbarger authors an essay admonishing leaders of the legal community for inaction in the face of the "aggressive undermining of the rule of law" by now former President Donald Trump. At the suggestion of fellow classmate Gary Ratner, and with vital support from their colleagues, the two found Lawyers Defending American Democracy as a "bottoms-up organization" not subject to institutional constraints and dedicated to the preservation of our democracy.

Lawyers Defending American Democracy (LDAD) launches its organization with an Open Letter to the President and Congress.

​Underscor​ing the Constitutional requirement for impartiality, LDAD forcefully refutes claims made by Senator McConnell that political bias is a legitimate factor in former President Trump's impeachment trial.

LDAD files ​its first ​amicus brief in federal court challenging the government’s “good faith” in moving to drop charges against Michael ​T. ​Flynn for lying to the FBI, despite him having pled guilty to that charge twice.

LDAD files its first comprehensive and in-depth legal ethics complaint against Attorney General Barr. ​The complaint is endorsed by four former DC Bar presidents and twenty-three other distinguished DC Bar members.

LDAD releases a detailed compendium on the state of our democracy, including needed reforms to make it stronger.

Following the invasion of the U.S. Capitol, LDAD issues an Open Letter condemning former President Trump and urging that he be removed from office immediately by way of impeachment or by his Cabinet under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.

LDAD called for the New York State Bar to investigate Rudolph W. Giuliani. The comprehensive ethics complaint is co-signed by 7,500 individuals and is the most comprehensive ethics complaint against Mr. Giuliani filed to date. Mr. Giulinai's law license was later suspended in June 2021. 

The history of our work at Lawyers Defending American Democracy is presented in a new report titled, "Defending Democracy: Our First Four Years."

LDAD and the Project On Government Oversight release a proposed model code of conduct for Supreme Court Justices to restore the public’s confidence in this critical institution.