As a retired attorney, I am all too aware that lawyers are often not held in the highest esteem by many people. That is, until someone actually needs a lawyer.
The adversarial justice system, where disputes are tried and presided over by independent judges, and where all sides in a case are represented by counsel who zealously represent their respective clients, is one of the hallmarks of our justice system, and one of the ways that make the United States truly exceptional.
Ironically, nobody should know this better than Donald Trump. Whether one feels the criminal cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith against him were meritorious or not, Trump was represented in every case by counsel of his choice, who zealously represented him against the charges.
But now, in a series of odious, outrageous, and likely unconstitutional moves, Trump, by executive actions and by ordering investigations, has decided to abuse the power of the presidency to punish several elite law firms that dared to take cases and clients he now perceives to be against his own interests (for example, representing Jack Smith, or Hillary Clinton), including revoking security clearances for their lawyers, forbidding their lawyers’ entry into any federal building, and threatening to cancel contracts with parties represented by those firms, among other tactics.
One may argue, “oh, these are elite law firms, they will do fine in any event.” But these firms are being made examples for the rest of the profession, and indeed for all professions. While being interviewed on Fox News, President Trump explicitly said, “we are going to be going after a lot of law firms.”
Everyone, but especially those who feel they have been unlawfully treated by the government, is entitled to the counsel of their choice. This is how government wrongdoing is rooted out, and our precious civil rights are protected. If lawyers are chilled from taking cases simply because they fear consequences from taking on a client or arguing a position that may run afoul of the stated policies of the state, or of the president, we are moving by leaps and bounds towards an authoritarian regime. Whatever one’s politics, everyone who values a fair, principled and independent justice system, resting on the foundation of the rule of law, should be alarmed and should speak out.
Ira Rubinfeld, Springdale
