RALEIGH — Campbell Law School Dean J. Rich Leonard is among the more than 100 deans of U.S. law schools who signed an open letter pledging to train law students in ways that will sustain constitutional democracy while encouraging future lawyers to champion the rule of law through advocacy, public education and clinical work, according to the American Bar Association (ABA) Journal.
The June 18 letter, posted on the ABA’s website, cited the following five essential elements in training lawyers:
- Teaching students to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, which includes a duty to support constitutional democracy and, per the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, to “further the public’s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system;”
- Offering courses, workshops and events that engage with the rule of law and democracy and sharing teaching resources through a new clearinghouse that the ABA is creating;
- Teaching students to disagree respectfully and to engage across partisan and ideological divides;
- Encouraging students to support and defend the Constitution and the rule of law through clinical work, public education and advocacy;
- And supporting public education and events focused on the rule of law and the values of constitutional democracy.
The letter stems from a collaboration between the ABA Task Force for American Democracy and the law school leaders.
The deans’ letter comes amidst ongoing challenges and a growing sense of weariness that pervades the American public’s sentiment regarding our democratic systems. A recent Gallup poll reveals that only 28% of U.S. adults express satisfaction with the state of democracy in the country. One ray of hope, however, is that in 2022 a staggering 116,723 students enrolled in juris doctorate programs, according to the ABA Profile of the Legal Profession released last year. These students and the deans’ commitment herald a new era of legal advocates for the rule of law and our democracy.
ABA President Mary Smith, who created the task force in August 2023, called the efforts to improve civics education “critical” in a press release.
The public’s lack of knowledge regarding the rule of law and basic democratic principles leads them to “take democracy for granted and fail to understand that its essential freedoms can easily be lost,” Smith said in the press release. “Today, our nation and world are at an inflection point. At home and around the globe, autocrats and dictators threaten the rule of law.”
Other law school deans who signed the letter include Martin Brinkley, dean of the University of North Carolina School of Law; Paul Brest, the interim dean of Stanford Law School; Kerry Abrams, the dean of the Duke University School of Law; Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law; and Gillian Lester, the dean of Columbia Law School.
“The nation’s law schools play a critical role in training the next generation of lawyers and upholding the core values of our profession,” remarked Heather K. Gerken, Yale Law School dean and member of the task force, who also signed the letter. “Through our joint efforts as outlined in this letter, we hope to set an example for our students as we prepare them to carry our democracy forward.”
As the 2024 election approaches, law students are actively engaged in conversations about democracy, as seen by their attendance at the task force’s recent listening tour events in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
“This is not a partisan, political issue. It is rule of law 101,” said Jeh Johnson, a task force co-chair and a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in the press release.
“It is heartening to know that law school deans are embracing the support and defense of our democracy as part of a basic legal education,” said Jeh Johnson, a task force co-chair and a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in the press release. “This is not a partisan, political issue. It is Rule of Law 101. The next generation of lawyers must understand the challenges we face, take the torch we pass to them and continue the hard work to safeguard our democracy.”
ABA Task Force Co-Chair Judge J. Michael Luttig added “for the first time since our country’s founding almost 250 years ago, America’s democracy and rule of law are under existential threat. Every American citizen, but especially members of the legal profession, must stand up and speak out in defense and support of our democracy and rule of law.”
ABOUT THE ABA
The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. Among its accolades, the school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts nearly 5,000 alumni, who make their home in nearly all 50 states and beyond. Throughout 2024, Campbell Law is celebrating 45 years of graduating legal leaders and 15 years of being located in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.