Session 2

June 25, 10:50-12:20 a.m.

Session 2: Legal Mobilization to Save Democracy and the Rule of Law in the United States

The United States offers a particularly complex setting in which to examine contemporary pressures on legal institutions. Recent developments—including challenges to judicial authority, tensions within professional organizations, and contested uses of legal processes—have prompted renewed debate about the capacity of the legal profession to respond effectively to political and institutional strain. This session brings together different perspectives on how American lawyers, courts, and professional bodies are navigating these challenges.

The discussion will explore forms of legal mobilization ranging from litigation and professional advocacy to internal resistance within government and private institutions. Participants will reflect on the opportunities and constraints created by the U.S. constitutional structure, federalism, professional regulation, and legal market dynamics, as well as the ways in which polarization and economic pressures shape professional choices.

Rather than assuming any single model of success or failure, the session invites examination of practical experience: which strategies appear to have been effective in particular contexts, which have proven difficult to sustain, and why. The session will also consider the longer-term implications for professional independence and institutional resilience, and what the American experience may suggest for other legal systems facing related forms of democratic stress.

Panelists:
Renee Knake Jefferson, Professor of Law and the Joanne and Larry Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics, University of Houston, United States
Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, Washington, United States
Stacey Young, Founder and Director Justice Connection, Washington, United States
Wallace B. Jefferson, President  American Law Institute, Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, Houston, United States 

Moderator:
Scott Cummings, Robert Henigson Professor of Legal Ethics, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, United States