Over 100 deans commit to training lawyers to sustain constitutional democracy, rule of law
More than 100 deans of U.S. law schools signed an open letter pledging to train law students in ways that will sustain constitutional democracy while encouraging future lawyers to champion the rule of law through advocacy, public education and clinical work. (Image from Shutterstock)
More than 100 deans of U.S. law schools signed an open letter pledging to train law students in ways that will sustain constitutional democracy while encouraging future lawyers to champion the rule of law through advocacy, public education and clinical work.
The June 18 letter, posted on the ABA’s website, cited five essential elements in training lawyers.
- Teaching students to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, which includes a duty to support constitutional democracy and, per the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, to “further the public’s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system”
- Offering courses, workshops and events that engage with the rule of law and democracy and sharing teaching resources through a new clearinghouse that the ABA is creating
- Teaching students to disagree respectfully and to engage across partisan and ideological divides
- Encouraging students to support and defend the Constitution and the rule of law through clinical work, public education and advocacy
- Supporting public education and events focused on the rule of law and the values of constitutional democracy
The letter stems from a collaboration between the ABA Task Force for American Democracy and the law school leaders.
ABA President Mary Smith, who created the task force in August 2023, called the efforts to improve civics education “critical” in a press release.
The public’s lack of knowledge regarding the rule of law and basic democratic principles leads them to “take democracy for granted and fail to understand that its essential freedoms can easily be lost,” Smith said in the press release. “Today, our nation and world are at an inflection point. At home and around the globe, autocrats and dictators threaten the rule of law.”
Deans who signed the letter include Paul Brest, the interim dean of Stanford Law School; Kerry Abrams, the dean of the Duke University School of Law; Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law; and Gillian Lester, the dean of Columbia Law School.
“This is not a partisan, political issue. It is rule of law 101,” said Jeh Johnson, a task force co-chair and a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in the press release.
The deans recognized their role in leading the effort.
“Through our joint efforts as outlined in this letter, we hope to set an example for our students as we prepare them to carry our democracy forward,” said Heather K. Gerken, the dean of Yale Law School and a member of the task force, in the press release.
