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
-
Zimbabwe: Lawyers Targeted During Opposition to Constitutional Changes Expanding Executive Power
Amnesty International issued a follow-up Urgent Action on August 7, 2026, calling on Zimbabwean authorities to drop all charges against human rights defender Bhekimpilo Mbedzi. Mbedzi was arrested on July 15 after…
-
Did Paul, Weiss Partners Seriously Debate Running The Firm’s Business Past Stephen Miller?
A sweeping New York Times investigation published the weekend of August 2, and analyzed in the legal press, reconstructed how the elite law firm Paul, Weiss chose to strike a deal with…
-
How a Top Law Firm Went From Standing Up to Trump to Bending the Knee
A New York Times investigation by Michael S. Schmidt and Jessica Silver-Greenberg examines how Paul Weiss — a firm long identified with civil rights litigation and, during Trump’s first term, with organized…
-
Thailand: Investigate Online Attacks Against Rights Defenders
On July 31 (Thailand), Human Rights Watch reported that Angkhana Neelapaijit, a senator and former member of Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission, filed a police complaint after a wave of social media…
-
Grave concern over the ICE arrest of Chinese human rights lawyer Wu Shaoping
Lawyers for Lawyers reported that U.S. immigration authorities detained Wu Shaoping, a Chinese human-rights lawyer who fled China after facing pressure connected to his legal work. Wu had sought asylum in the…
Upcoming Events
Coming Soon…
