US Justice System Plummets in Global Standing as 'Endangered Lawyer' Focus
A new international report has delivered a stark assessment of the United States' legal landscape, naming the country as this year's focus for the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer. This designation places America alongside nations typically characterised by authoritarian regimes, marking a dramatic shift in global perception of what was once considered a democratic judicial role model.
From Role Model to 'Endangered' Status
The decision to spotlight the United States was reached through a vote involving more than forty bar associations and legal organisations worldwide. A coalition report released alongside the designation expressed profound concern about what it described as a "sustained and co-ordinated campaign aimed at undermining the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary" under the current administration.
Symone Gaasbeek, a coalition co-founder speaking from the Netherlands, noted the surprising nature of this development. "We look at the facts, we don't deal in labels," she explained. "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 Formal Concerns
The coalition's assessment has been significantly influenced by the work of UN special rapporteur Margaret Satterthwaite, who monitors the treatment of legal professionals globally. Over the past year, Satterthwaite has sent two official letters to top US diplomats objecting to what she views as abusive treatment of American lawyers.
The first letter, dispatched shortly after the presidential inauguration, protested the dismissal of numerous career lawyers from the Department of Justice. The second, dated 6 May 2025, addressed attacks from the administration against judges who had ruled against government policies, including inflammatory rhetoric directed at specific jurists.
"Presidents are entitled to publicly disagree with court rulings," Satterthwaite told reporters. "But this kind of smearing is completely inappropriate." She warned that in other countries, similar verbal assaults had incited violence against judges, citing examples from the Philippines under former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Escalating Tensions Between Branches of Government
The current administration's relationship with the judiciary represents a significant escalation of tensions that began during the previous presidential term. A litigation tracker maintained by the Just Security website is currently monitoring 585 legal cases involving the administration, illustrating the scale of ongoing legal confrontation.
While the administration has benefited from largely favourable temporary rulings from the Supreme Court – facilitated by previous judicial appointments – federal courts continue to serve as a crucial check on executive power. However, the Endangered Lawyers report documents numerous ways the administration has intensified its approach toward legal professionals.
Targeting Private Law Firms and Prosecutorial Independence
One particularly concerning development highlighted in the report involves executive orders targeting specific law firms perceived as representing political opponents. Firms including Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block have faced threats including removal of federal contracts, revocation of security clearances, and exclusion from federal facilities.
The UN rapporteur described this approach as "unprecedented and dangerous," noting that "lawyers are meant to represent their clients without them being seen as aligned with those clients. There's a reason for that: so that everyone has access to a lawyer."
Simultaneously, prosecutors face growing pressure to align with White House political priorities, with the traditional fifty-year norm of Justice Department independence appearing significantly eroded. Recent examples include federal investigations into Democratic officials in Minnesota amid ongoing immigration disputes.
International Dimensions and Future Implications
The administration's approach has extended beyond domestic borders, with executive orders imposing sanctions on eleven judges serving at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. These measures were reportedly in response to ICC investigations into US military conduct in Afghanistan and Israeli operations in Gaza.
Vânia Costa Ramos, president of the European Criminal Bar Association, expressed concern that such sanctions could deter lawyers from working with international courts. "If lawyers and all citizens don't stand up and denounce abuses and bring them to daylight," she warned, "then in a few years we could see the entire US justice system impacted in ways that would be very difficult to reverse."
The coalition report concludes with a sobering assessment of the potential long-term consequences, noting a developing "chilling effect" on legal advocacy. Lawyers representing marginalised clients in cases involving immigration, LGBTQ rights, or Palestinian activism reportedly face intensified scrutiny, while the fundamental principle of lawyers working without fear of reprisal appears increasingly under threat in what was once considered a bastion of democratic legal norms.
