Endangered Lawyers? Attorney Independence in the Department of Justice

Over the past year, we have seen an unprecedented purge of career DOJ lawyers whose only offense seems to have been doing their jobs – impartially and with integrity. Those who have stayed face the difficult task of reconciling their professional obligations with adherence to legally questionable directives from Department Leadership. Dozens of judges have called out DOJ attorneys for misstating facts and defying judicial orders.

Moderated by award-winning journalist Emily Bazelon and featuring legal ethics expert Professor Bruce Green and lawyers who have left the DOJ during this tumultuous year, this program examines the developments over the past year at DOJ, focusing on professional conduct issues confronting DOJ lawyers under the current Administration.

The program is presented in recognition of the 2026 International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, which since 2010 has sought to concentrate attention on the specific challenges faced by lawyers in particular countries in which they have found themselves under siege. For the Day of the Endangered Lawyer in 2026, the chosen country of focus is the United States.

Speakers:
Mary L. Dohrmann, Senior Counsel, Washington Litigation Group and former federal prosecutor
Bruce Green, Louis Stein Chair of Law; Director, Stein Center, Fordham Law School
Troy (LT) Edwards, Former Deputy Chief of National Security, United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia
Sonia Mittal, Former Senior Counsel to the Capitol Siege Section, United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Clinical Lecturer in Law, Yale Law School
Joseph Tirrell, Former Director of the Department of Justice Departmental Ethics Office and Senior Ethics Counsel for Federal Employee Ethics at the Department of Justice

Moderator: 
Emily Bazelon, Senior Research Scholar in Law, Yale Law School; Staff Writer at The New York Times Magazine

Sponsoring Committee:
Independence of Lawyers and Judges Task Force, Matthew Diller, Chair

Cosponsoring Committee:
Rule of Law Task Force, Susan J. Kohlmann, Chair