The D.C. Bar’s Ethics Opinion 391 (October 2025) addresses the ethical implications of lawyers or law firms entering agreements with government entities that may limit or shape their legal practice. The opinion cautions that such arrangements can create conflicts of interest, impose improper restrictions on a lawyer’s right to practice, or undermine professional independence. It …
Are we losing our democracy? Countries that slide from democracy toward autocracy tend to follow similar patterns. To measure what is happening in the United States, the N.Y. Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion under Trump: they are a warning of how much Americans have already lost and …
According to the World Justice Project’s 2025 Rule of Law Index, Romania has dropped three places to 44th globally, reflecting a continued decline in democratic standards and institutional integrity. The report highlights weakening checks on government power, reduced transparency, and growing political interference in the judiciary, echoing a global trend where 68% of countries show …
Alex, H. (2025). Fuzzy Boundaries: A Mechanism for Group Accumulation of Advantage. Sociological Theory, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/07352751251378516 This article describes a strategic mechanism, fuzzy boundaries, that groups use to accumulate advantage. In contrast to the dominant view that rigid, well-defined boundaries maximize group rewards, I argue that ambiguity in membership criteria can, under certain conditions, more …
This week’s Legal Ethics Roundup highlights pressing issues at the intersection of law, ethics, and democracy. Former federal judges warn that DOJ lawyers under the Trump administration have misled courts, raising new questions about government accountability. Other major stories include the California Supreme Court’s refusal to erase attorney discipline records, state attorneys general potentially violating …
This New Yorker article examines how major U.S. law firms responded to Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the broader implications for the legal profession. It argues that many elite firms, once seen as defenders of democratic norms, remained silent or complicit as lawyers within and outside government advanced baseless claims of …
The ACLU is leading the fight to protect civil rights and challenge systemic inequality in housing, employment, education, and beyond. Recent actions by the Trump administration threaten decades of progress by rolling back disparate impact protections — a key tool that holds institutions accountable for policies that disproportionately harm marginalized communities, even without explicit intent …
Chad’s recent constitutional amendment abolishing presidential term limits marks a major setback for democracy and the rule of law. The reform, fast-tracked through parliament and signed by President Mahamat Idriss Déby, allows him to remain in power indefinitely and extends presidential terms from five to seven years. Human Rights Watch warns that this move dismantles …
In a powerful reflection, Suren Avanesyan shares his encounter with two leading Russian human rights lawyers, Vadim Prokhorov and Karina Moskalenko, who continue to defend political prisoners from exile. Their work before the European Court of Human Rights is one of the few remaining avenues for justice as political repression in Russia intensifies. The piece …
Satterthwaite, M. L., Sydow, K., & Polk, B. (2023). Unchecking Power and Capturing Courts: How Autocratization Erodes Independent Judicial Systems. Rutgers UL Rev., 76, 1147. The paper argues that courts have increasingly taken on legislative functions by issuing structural reform injunctions—broad, ongoing orders designed to overhaul public institutions such as prisons, schools, and mental hospitals. …