The article Avoision: When Government Lawyers Turn the Sovereign Against Itself (Case Western Reserve Law Review, 2024) argues that when government lawyers engage in “avoision”—working at the edge of legality to help political superiors achieve their goals—they fundamentally betray their real client, which is the law itself. Richard W. Painter shows how practices such as justifying torture, attempting to overturn elections, evading financial disclosure, or undermining civil rights amount to government lawyers turning the sovereign against itself, weakening democratic foundations. The piece situates this behavior within a long history of lawyers exploiting loopholes but emphasizes its especially destructive impact inside government. Painter concludes by urging a clearer professional ethic—where government lawyers see the law, not political leaders, as their client—and proposes a government-wide Office of Professional Responsibility to provide oversight, guidance, and accountability.