Report

LDAD at Mid-Year: Seven Months of Action, Advocacy, and Impact

June 28, 2021

Aug 16, 2026

Editorial credit: Shutterstock

Throughout 2026, this country has faced unrelenting challenges to the rule of law and the constitutional, procedural, and substantive principles that are foundational to it. The administration continued to deny due process at scale, targeting the legal profession, the courts, and civil society institutions, while turning the machinery of federal law enforcement against perceived political opponents. This barrage has continued to undermine public confidence in the core foundational principles of the American system of government that protect American liberty.

Since our founding in 2019, our mission at Lawyers Defending American Democracy ("LDAD") has been to stand up for these principles and to organize and mobilize lawyers and others to do the same.

This mid-year report details the extraordinary work we have undertaken so far in 2026, a period in this country of both accountability and escalation. Throughout this year, LDAD has filed major new ethics complaints against some of the most senior lawyers in the federal government; filed more than a dozen amicus briefs in cases involving the independence of the legal profession, the civil service, and the right to vote; and launched several Action Alerts, our new rapid-response tool to mobilize lawyers and the public to respond to unlawful federal actions as they happen.

We will continue this work throughout the remainder of 2026 and beyond. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to share this 2026 Report with you and hope that you will engage with our nonprofit, nonpartisan work by donating, volunteering, and following us on social media, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook.

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