We are fewer than three weeks into 2026, and it appears that the grave problems impacting the rule of law are only proceeding apace for another year. Trying to come up with something to say so far this month here at the blog has felt difficult.
Who wants to hear me continue to scream into the void about the problems with the legal profession’s nearly nihilistic insistence on continuing to push GAI into all aspects of the practice of law? Sure, I will get to that topic again at some point as every week continues to provide more examples of the problems that stem from the legal industry not understanding GAI even half as well as Ben Affleck does.
But, today, I am taking advantage of a perfectly timed (for me – it might be too late for us) development to post something about one of the few problems that are even more important for the profession than understanding that GAI is not the answer — the impact of Trump and Trumpism on the erosion of the rule of law in the United States.
Today, in an open letter published in the New York Times, two former federal judges wrote about: “How the American Legal Profession Can Regain Its Dignity.” That essay discusses the existence of a set of Legal Principles that have been crafted by more than 30 former federal judges and which are urged to be adopted by members of the legal profession. The release of the substance of the principles and the call for public endorsement of them by lawyers and law firms is described as “mark[ing] the launch of a national effort to ensure that the legal profession remains a central pillar of a flourishing Republic governed by the rule of law.”
As it is clear to me that we are not currently a flourishing Republic and we do not seem, at this moment, to any longer be governed by the rule of law, this effort is a much needed one.
You can read the Legal Principles in full, and submit your endorsement of them, at this link.
For my small part, I have submitted by endorsement today.