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
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Trump’s Claim That the Law Firms He Has Attacked Are Trying to Silence Him Is Truly Bizarre
The Trump administration has been engaged in a legal battle against several prominent law firms — Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, and Susman Godfrey — after issuing executive orders targeting them…
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State Attorneys General Challenge Trump Mail Voting Order
A coalition of Democratic officials from 23 states, including several state attorneys general and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, has sued the Trump administration over a new executive order that seeks to impose…
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Pakistan: End the unjust detention and immediately release human rights defender Idris Khattak, facing life-threatening health risk
UN human rights experts issued an urgent appeal on April 2, 2026, demanding Pakistan immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Idris Khattak, who has been detained for over six years following…
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Legal and human rights organisations condemn the conviction of Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang
On March 23, 2026, Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang was sentenced to five years in prison and fined approximately $14,500 USD by a court in Hunan Province on charges of “inciting…
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Democratic AGs file 100th lawsuit against Trump
Democratic attorneys general have filed their 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration as part of a coordinated legal strategy, claiming wins in 55 of 67 cases that have reached court rulings so…
Upcoming Events
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