In an important step for the legal profession and the rule of law, the Hearing Committee for the Board on Professional Responsibility of the DC Bar has issued a Report and Recommendation that Rudolph Giuliani be disbarred for actions he took in Pennsylvania to overturn the 2020 election.

In the movie, the Glass Onion, Kate Hudson’s Birdie – with self-admiration and a lack of introspection – announced that she is a “truth-teller.” In response, the detective played by Daniel Craig drolly noted, “It’s a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth.”  

LDAD is proud to share information about an upcoming book edited by our executive director, Lauren Stiller Rikleen, entitled: Her Honor –Stories of Challenge and Triumph from Women Judges. The book contains nuanced, personal stories by and about some of the nation’s most respected women judges.

The Supreme Court term that just began promises to be every bit as breathtaking as the last.  

Have you ever wondered when a litigator’s actions could go beyond zealous advocacy for a client to constitute frivolous claims or knowingly false statements of law or material fact? Or, what kinds of actions could violate an attorney’s oath to support the Constitution of the United States?

The work of Lawyers Defending American Democracy is focused on protecting our democratic institutions and the rule of law. A core part of that work is seeking to hold lawyers and public officials accountable for violating their oath to protect the Constitution of the United States. That is, after all, the bare minimum that should be expected.

Here at LDAD, we think incessantly about the ongoing threats to our democracy. We ask ourselves why the infrastructure of the legal profession – bar associations, law school deans, law firms, and corporate counsel – remain largely silent, as too many states attack the rule of law by implementing unconstitutional statutes and suppressing the right to vote.

Lawyers Defending American Democracy contacted the DC Office of Disciplinary Counsel last week to determine why we had not received written acknowledgment of the ethics complaint that we and a group of prominent DC lawyers filed against former U.S. Attorney General William Barr.