This report, prepared by the Coalition for the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, designates the United States as its 2026 focus country, arguing that threats to the legal profession have become systematic rather than isolated. Drawing on international standards such as the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and the newly adopted Council of Europe (Luxembourg) Convention, the report documents a coordinated campaign throughout 2025 to undermine the independence of lawyers, judges, and legal institutions. Key examples include executive orders and presidential memoranda targeting specific law firms (such as Covington & Burling, Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale) by revoking security clearances and restricting access to federal facilities; coerced “compliance” deals in which nine firms pledged roughly $940 million in pro bono work; sanctions against International Criminal Court personnel and human rights lawyers; harassment and surveillance of immigration and pro-Palestinian advocates; the politicization and mass dismissals of prosecutors within the Department of Justice; pressure on judges through disciplinary and impeachment threats; and attacks on the American Bar Association’s independence and accreditation role. The report concludes that these measures have produced a chilling effect that erodes access to justice and the rule of law, and it calls on US authorities, international bodies, bar associations, civil society, academia, and media to take coordinated action to protect the independence of the legal profession.

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