The independence of America’s legal profession is under unprecedented attack. Last week, the American Bar Association took the extraordinary step of suing the Trump administration to protect law firms from government retaliation—firms that are being punished simply for opposing administration policies. The ABA is urging a federal court in Washington D.C. to strike down Presidential executive orders that have restricted the ability of law firms to even speak with government officials, calling these actions “unprecedented and uniquely dangerous to the rule of law.”
In describing the ABA’s decision to file this lawsuit, the organization’s President William Bay said, “The administration’s intimidation of lawyers and law firms has gone on long enough and needs to stop immediately.” He noted that while a few law firms are now protected by specific court orders, there are “thousands of lawyers who are not party to those cases and don’t have the resources to withstand that intimidation, and we’re standing up for them.”
This domestic crisis threatens not just American lawyers, but also the ABA’s crucial work defending and supporting legal institutions at home and abroad. As the ABA rises to defend the nation’s legal profession, American lawyers must rally to support the ABA in return.
Last week’s lawsuit builds on a public statement the ABA made in March that declared: “We reject efforts to undermine the courts and the profession. We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not. Words and actions matter. And the intimidating words and actions we have heard and seen must end. They are designed to cow our country’s judges, our country’s courts and our legal profession.”
The gravity of this lawsuit cannot be overstated. The ABA—founded in 1878 and representing more than 250,000 lawyers, judges and law students—rarely takes such direct political action. As the national voice of the legal profession, the organization typically focuses on improving justice administration, accrediting law schools, and promoting the rule of law globally. That it has chosen to sue a sitting administration signals just how serious the threat has become.
The stakes aren’t just domestic. For 35 years, the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) has strengthened legal institutions in more than 100 countries, training judges, supporting lawyers, and fostering respect for human rights. This work—funded primarily through the State Department and USAID—also has delivered more than $350 million in pro bono legal assistance to fragile democracies worldwide.
In 2001, the ABA enhanced its international mission, creating its Center for Human Rights, which supports human rights defenders worldwide, including lawyers, judges, journalists, and citizen-advocates who confront abusive governments to defend the rights of all. Now, the Trump administration is dramatically scaling back funding for these programs. While the ABA is also challenging these budget reductions in court, the threat is profound, and includes massive cuts in work and staff in the US that are already underway.
Another important offshoot of the ABA is the World Justice Project (WJP). It was established in 2007 by William Neukom, a former ABA President, to build awareness and stimulate action to advance the rule of law worldwide. The WJP defines the rule of law as a durable system of laws, institutions, norms, and community commitments that delivers four universal principles: accountability, just law, open government, and accessible and impartial justice. The WJP publishes a rule of law index that now covers 142 countries. At a moment when these norms are being challenged in this country and in so many places around the world, the Rule of Law Index provides an essential tool in assessing each nation’s adherence to these principles at a moment when democratic norms are being challenged globally.
This is a pivotal moment for the American legal profession. If lawyers fail to support the ABA now, we risk normalizing government intimidation of the bar and undermining the independence that is essential to our democratic system. We are also undermining the ABA’s essential efforts to support the rule of law globally. The consequences extend far beyond any single administration—they threaten the foundational principle that lawyers must be free to advocate zealously for their clients without fear of government retaliation.
Bill Neukom’s law firm, K&L Gates, has shown leadership by covering ABA membership costs for all partners and associates. Every law firm and corporate legal department should follow this example. Such support would not only help offset federal funding cuts but send a clear message: the legal profession will not be intimidated — it will stand united in defense of the ABA and most crucially, the rule of law.