Insight

Keep your hands off the lawyers: International Day of the Endangered Lawyer report 2026

The United States (US) is the focus country for the Day of the Endangered Lawyer (DEL) 2026. This report examines the environment for legal professionals there.

29 Jan 2026

4 minutes read

The DEL seeks to build awareness of the serious risks faced by lawyers around the world.

The choice of the US as the focus country shows that threats to lawyers can emerge within political systems that have been perceived as established democracies.

It highlights that no jurisdiction is immune to backsliding.

An attack on the independence of the legal profession is an attack on the core of democracy.

As the global legal community, we must show solidarity and use every tool available to defend our American colleagues and the fundamental principles we have sworn to uphold.

Key points

This report uses cases of lawyers under threat to examine the environment for legal professionals in the US.

It identifies and explores four patterns of interference with the US legal profession:

To see the infographic about this topic, please refer to the live page.

It concludes with demands and recommendations designed to ensure compliance with international standards.

Patterns of interference with the legal profession

Interventions targeting the legal profession in the US are not isolated and sporadic administrative acts.

Instead, they are a systematic sequence of measures, driven by the same political objective.

The result is a chilling climate that is inconsistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the United Nations (UN) Basic Principles on the Role of a Lawyer and the Luxembourg Convention.

Political retaliation and executive orders targeting lawyers or law firms

A series of presidential memoranda and executive orders issued in early 2025 targeted law firms that were associated with high-profile cases involving the current administration.

Other executive orders targeted the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the American Bar Association (ABA).

These measures severely restricted law firms’ abilities to exercise professional duties.

They also demonstrate a troubling pattern of interference and harassment that undermine the independence of the legal profession.

Surveillance, threats, and harassment of lawyers

Alongside executive orders and presidential acts, other less visible, but more pervasive, actions against lawyers have escalated.

Forms of harassment include:

questioning lawyers at the border
attempts to view or copy electronic devices
collective withdrawal of access to federal facilities and security clearances
information and document requests sent to lawyers acting in specific protest cases, and
online smear campaigns

Politicisation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the judicial system

The DOJ is being politicised and weaponised. Its independence is being corroded as it increasingly operates as the executive’s personal counsel.

Actions by the current administration illustrate a pattern of executive encroachment on legal independence and institutional checks on executive overreach.

Chilling effect on legal representation and civil society

Executive targeting, surveillance of law firms and lawyers, and increasing politicisation within the DOJ has a chilling effect.

It discourages lawyers from engaging in areas of practice involving rights-based, dissenting or vulnerable groups.

Conclusions and recommendations

The current situation of lawyers and the justice system in the US reveals a sustained and coordinated campaign.

It aims to undermine the independence of the legal profession, the judiciary and related institutions.

These measures targeting the legal profession have far-reaching consequences.

To prevent further deterioration and restore respect for the rule of law, urgent and coordinated action is needed at all levels.

Recommendations for US national authorities

Legislative branch (US Congress and state legislatures)

Strengthen protections for the legal profession by holding hearings and using oversight powers to safeguard independent institutions
Pass laws that shield judges and lawyers from intimidation and politically driven interference
Ensure transparent, impartial disciplinary processes and establish a bipartisan commission to monitor bar independence annually
Sign and ratify the Luxembourg Convention once it enters into force and is open to non-Council of Europe states

Executive branch

Restore independence within the DOJ
Remove executive orders, memoranda and sanctions that have restricted security clearances and interfered with the legal practice of law firms and courts such as the ICC
Publicly reaffirm the commitment to judicial independence
Use federal powers to increase public defence budgets and strengthen security measures for lawyers and judges

Judicial branch

Continue to publicly condemn attempts to pressure judges
Implement federal and local protocols safeguarding courts from improper law enforcement interference
Adopt codes of ethics for judges to prevent political pressure

Recommendations for international organisations and other stakeholders

The UN

The special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers should prepare a public report for the UN Human Rights Council
Urge the US authorities to resume cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms

International and regional bar associations

Condemn pressure on the legal profession in the US and express solidarity with American colleagues
Organise international observation missions to monitor trials and meet with US legal community representatives
Prepare comparative reports on best practices for bar independence in federal systems
Use global platforms to raise awareness of the situation and provide support to lawyers under pressure

Recommendations for civil society organisations

Form coalitions to legally challenge executive orders targeting law firms
Launch public awareness campaigns to educate people on the importance of lawyers and judicial independence
Organise legal defence funds
Develop and implement safety programmes for lawyers handling high-profile cases
Conduct independent audits of disciplinary procedures
Monitor and document pressure on lawyers

Law schools and academia

Actively document and publish research on current threats to the rule of law
Include courses on ethical dilemmas and the role of lawyers in defending democratic institutions under political pressure in curricula
Conduct interdisciplinary international research on the impact of bar independence on justice quality, with open access to findings

Media

Deepen investigative reporting on pressure against lawyers and judges
Expose political interference in the work of lawyers and other legal professionals