The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers

Four hundred years ago, William Shakespeare wrote a strange phrase about the borders: “The first thing we do is, let’s kill all lawyers.” Supreme Court Judge John Paul Stevens also understood that this phrase was not aimed at extracting lawyers, but recognizing the decisive role of lawyers in preserving the rule of law. In his interpretation of the phrase, a memory was commemorated in the 1985 case Al -Tars against the survivors of radiation“Shakespeare realized frankly that getting rid of lawyers is a step in the direction of a comprehensive form of the government.”

For several centuries, people understood that lawyers are an important tool to support the rule of law and preserve democracy. It is clear that the second Trump administration understands this well. Thus, it is not surprising that the first president to injure felony convicts in the post -president is determined to compel the legal profession for subordination. Trump and his allies realize that undermining the nation’s legal infrastructure is more important to their plan to build an authoritarian system in the United States. Whether it succeeds or not, it will depend on whether the prominent lawyers in the country have the moral stability and clarity of the defense of democracy, justice and the rule of law.

In the past few weeks, the Trump administration has started a multi -effort attack on the rule of law in a series of escalating threats and punitive measures:

• Judges threat With dismissal and implicit violence to issue rulings that support the constitution in the face of its illegal behavior.
• Release Executive orders Revenge against law firms, which represented its political opponents, transit youth, and others at the Trump intersection.
• Abstract financing away from lawyers who do cash representation The most vulnerable Between us.
• Drafting a note of arming justice and internal security departments against the accused lawyers, “unreasonable, unreasonable, and annoying” against the Trump administration.

In other words, Trump targets lawyers who use the constitutional balance of the authorities to curb it. While lawyers and judges may be outwardly, they do not make mistakes in any mistake: this is about ensuring that Trump’s unrestricted ability to harm the weak and trample on our democracy without any checks or guarantees to prevent it.

While Trump’s allies threatened to Congress Eliminate courts Where the judges make their jobs and issue rulings that stop the president’s unconstitutional and illegal procedures, this will not be necessary if there are no lawyers to present cases that ultimately lead to this accountability. Trump Memorandum “Preventing violations of the legal system and the federal court“Insiders that no company or lawyer will be safe from the administration’s attack on the legal system – even those who have represented his interests in the past. It is safe to say that there is a large law firm in this country that will not have part of their work, especially through their work, especially through their work, both, and the traits of their titles, a horse, projects of their projects, projects of their projects in general, and their projects. The Trump administration’s demands emerged for fear of sanctions.
Commitment to provide $ 40 million in legal support for the administration’s business schedule and give Trump an opinion on his daily operations.

To be very clear: if the law firm, the defense of the companies that exist largely to maintain the status quo that Donald Trump and Elon Musk benefited in the world, then there is no doubt whether this administration will come to the lawyers who have been in their lines long ago in the battle for justice – federation lawyers, civil rights lawyer, and more immigrants. It is clear that these sharp force tactics are designed to intimidate lawyers, judges and law students, which creates a chilling effect in the legal profession that makes it less likely to speak in the face of personal and professional revenge. This disrupts the rule of law, undermines the basis of our democracy and ultimately hurts the most vulnerable, such as the unaccompanied Migrant children Those who depend on the availability of legal services to help maintain their rights in the midst of deep attacks.

But the magical research in Trump will only succeed if lawyers allow this. Fortunately, lawyers – including many with economic and social guarantee began much less than Paul Weiss partners – to show that at least some members of our profession are ready to stand against tyranny. Public lawyers from all over the country and lawyers like those in the American Civil Liberties Union and democratic attacker with the most threatening societies through this administration and to file monetary lawsuits that have slowed in many cases – and may eventually stop – the most actions of Trump. Voting lawyers, union lawyer and movement lawyer have long been shown the legal form of defending democracy and justice that can appear to be. Despite the inconsistent attacks from Trump and Musk, Federal judges continue to be a critical occurrence against the worst violations of this administration.

The path that lawyers choose at this moment will be decisive if we are able to maintain some aspects of democracy and justice in the United States throughout the country, and people who are weak at his threat directly by Trump – immigrants, converts, those who depend on government support in order to be able to meet a lot – show incredible courage. Lawyers should do the same – while they can still.