Our Mission
The Lawyers and Democratic Decline (LADD) project brings together an international community of scholars investigating the role of lawyers in resisting — and at times enabling — authoritarianism in contexts of democratic backsliding. Through collaborative research, comparative analysis, and public events, LADD explores how legal professionals navigate repression, uphold democratic norms, and negotiate their professional identity in times of political crisis.
Updates
News
2026 WILJ Symposium on Lawyers, Judges, and Creeping Authoritarianism
On February 12–13, 2026, the Wisconsin International Law Journal Symposium—co-sponsored by the Lawyers and Democratic Decline (LADD) project—brought scholars and practitioners to the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison for two days of conversation …
February 17, 2026
Trump instructs spy agencies to provide intelligence to his ‘Stop the Steal’ lawyer
President Donald Trump has directed the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies to give classified election-related intelligence to Kurt Olsen, a former Trump campaign lawyer who helped lead post-2020 election challenges and was later hired …
February 12, 2026
Erdoğan appoints controversial prosecutor as justice minister, sparking opposition backlash
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek as Turkey’s new justice minister, prompting a sharp backlash from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The CHP argues the move confirms …
February 12, 2026
Tunisia: Prominent Lawyer Arbitrarily Detained
In a February 10, 2026 news release, Human Rights Watch says Tunisian authorities are arbitrarily detaining prominent lawyer and human rights defender Ahmed Souab, who was convicted on terrorism-related charges linked to remarks he made …
February 10, 2026
Judicial misconduct complaint filed by Justice Dept. against Judge James Boasberg is dismissed
A federal appeals court judge, Jeffrey Sutton, dismissed a judicial misconduct complaint the United States Department of Justice filed against James Boasberg, ruling that the department failed to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate allegations that …
February 2, 2026- More News
