The International Day of the Endangered Lawyer this year focuses on the United States after a coalition of more than 40 bar associations concluded that lawyers and judges face politically driven intimidation under President Donald Trump. The coalition — influenced by UN special rapporteur Margaret Satterthwaite — cites mass DOJ dismissals, public smears of judges, anonymous threats, and executive orders targeting law firms. It warns these actions create a chilling effect on legal advocacy and threaten long-standing norms that protect judicial independence.
US Named Focus Of International 'Endangered Lawyer' Day Amid Rising Pressure On Judges And Attorneys
The Guardian of Law statue outside the US supreme court in Washington. A new report has named the US as a country where the rule of law is under threat.Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA(Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA)
An international coalition of more than 40 bar associations and legal organisations has singled out the United States as the focus of this year’s International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, warning that lawyers and judges face politically driven intimidation that threatens the rule of law.
The decision — announced ahead of Thursday’s observance — reflects concerns that a previously lauded democratic judiciary is under unprecedented pressure. The coalition cited a “sustained and co-ordinated campaign aimed at undermining the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary” during the past 12 months.
Why the US Was Selected
Members said the United States now resembles countries previously spotlighted by the initiative — which began in 2010 and has previously highlighted states such as Belarus, Afghanistan, Iran and China. Symone Gaasbeek, a coalition co-founder, told the Guardian from the Netherlands: “We look at the facts, we don’t deal in labels.”
“Led by the facts…you see a systematic attack on the legal profession in the US. As the past year has progressed, those attacks have intensified — it has become more and more clear that the government is trying to control the legal profession and that the rule of law is threatened.”
UN Rapporteur Raises Alarm
A key influence on the coalition’s decision was reporting from the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, who has sent two formal letters to senior US diplomatic officials and the State Department. The first, sent a month after President Trump’s inauguration, protested the dismissal of scores of long-serving Department of Justice attorneys — which the coalition and others say looked like retaliation related to earlier prosecutions connected to January 6 and other matters.
The second letter, dated 6 May 2025, protested public attacks from the president and his inner circle against judges who issued rulings adverse to the administration. Satterthwaite singled out President Trump’s call for the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg after he blocked deportations of Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador, calling the judge a “radical left lunatic” and a “troublemaker.”
Satterthwaite: “While presidents may voice disagreement with court decisions, this kind of smearing is completely inappropriate.”
Threats, Coercion And A Chilling Effect
The report documents a broader environment of intimidation: dozens of federal judges have faced threats — including anonymous, menacing pizza deliveries — and lawyers say they are encountering intensified scrutiny. The coalition warns this produces a chilling effect on legal advocacy, discouraging firms and lawyers from taking politically sensitive or marginalised clients.
Examples noted in the coalition report include executive orders targeting specific law firms the administration alleges represented its adversaries. Firms such as Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block were threatened with losing federal contracts, having security clearances revoked for lawyers, and being barred from federal facilities.
Wider Institutional Shift
Legal watchers point to structural shifts that have also changed courtroom dynamics: a litigation tracker maintained by the Just Security website lists roughly 585 cases involving the administration, while analyses show appellate judges appointed by former President Trump have strongly favoured the administration in recent rulings (a New York Times analysis noted 54 Trump-appointed appellate judges sided with the administration in 92% of recent cases).
At the same time, federal courts continue to block or slow some administration actions, serving as a remaining bulwark of judicial review. But the coalition’s report says patterns of firings, public smears, threats, and targeted executive actions together amount to an unprecedented challenge to judicial independence in modern US history.
International Dimensions
The administration has also acted beyond US borders: executive measures were used to impose sanctions on 11 judges of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, a move the coalition says could deter lawyers from working with international tribunals.
Vânia Costa Ramos, president of the European Criminal Bar Association, warned: “If lawyers and all citizens don’t stand up and denounce abuses and bring them to daylight, then in a few years we could see the entire US justice system impacted in ways that would be very difficult to reverse.”
What Comes Next
The coalition is calling for greater public scrutiny, protection for legal professionals, and reaffirmation of norms that keep prosecutorial decisions and the independence of private legal representation free from political coercion. The UN rapporteur said the administration had not responded to her formal letters as of the report’s publication.
The International Day of the Endangered Lawyer aims to spotlight these issues and press governments to uphold legal independence — a core safeguard of democratic societies.
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