April 25, 2025

[San Francisco, CA]—The Past Presidents of the Bar Association of San Francisco issue this statement with deep concern and a profound sense of urgency.  We support the Law Day of Action Rally to be held on May 1, 2025 as an important opportunity to voice our collective concern and demonstrate support for the rule of law.

The Rule of Law is not a slogan—it is the backbone of American democracy. It ensures that no person, not even the President, is above the law. It guarantees that all people, regardless of power or position, have the right to legal representation and access to the courts. It demands that lawyers be free to speak, to advocate, and to challenge the government without fear of retaliation.

Today, that foundation is under assault.

In recent weeks, the Executive Branch has issued a series of orders aimed at punishing lawyers and law firms for one reason only: because they represented clients whose causes the President disfavors. These orders impose a range of sanctions—including suspending security clearances, canceling contracts, banning lawyers from federal employment, and denying them access to federal buildings, including courthouses. Some of these lawyers represented political candidates or federal agents. Some represented individuals in criminal cases. Some provided pro bono assistance or advocated for inclusion in their law firms. All are now being punished simply for doing their jobs.

Let us be clear: these actions are retaliatory, unconstitutional, and dangerously authoritarian.

They are designed to chill advocacy. To intimidate lawyers. To send a message that if you stand up to the government, the government will come after you.

Even more alarming, the administration has begun openly flouting court orders, attacking judges and depriving individuals of their constitutional due process guarantees. In doing so, it has triggered a constitutional crisis—one in which the executive branch seeks to place itself above judicial authority and beyond constitutional limits.  An independent judiciary is a critical part of the democratic process. Defiance of lawful judicial rulings strikes at the heart of the separation of powers and the legitimacy of our legal system.

We are at a breaking point. If these attacks are not condemned and stopped, it will soon become too dangerous for lawyers to do what our system demands of us: to hold power to account, to speak up for the unpopular or the accused, to preserve constitutional rights, and to protect the integrity of our democratic institutions.

That is why we speak now.

We call on every lawyer—regardless of politics—to condemn these attacks. We call on our fellow bar associations, law schools, judges, and citizens to reaffirm their commitment to the Rule of Law. And we call on every public official to remember that the legal profession is not an arm of the executive, but a co-equal guardian of constitutional rights.

Our role as lawyers is not merely to serve clients. It is to serve justice. It is to protect the legal system itself. When the government targets lawyers because of the clients they represent or the arguments they make, the entire system begins to crumble.

We, the Past Presidents of the Bar Association of San Francisco, each speaking on our own behalf, rededicate ourselves to protecting that system. We urge all members of the legal profession to stand with us—to speak out, to act, and to defend the Rule of Law before it is too late.

Our democracy depends on it.

We will see you on May 1 at noon at the Phillip Burton Federal Building Plaza, and thereafter, as we come together to defend the rule of law.

Signed:

Fred Alvarez
Marvin Anderson
Merri A. Baldwin
Ambassador (ret.) Jeff Bleich
Hon. Angela M. Bradstreet (ret.)
Jim Brosnahan
Doris Cheng
Nanci Clarence
Kelly Dermody
James Finberg
Stanley J. Friedman
Arturo Gonzalez
Teresa Johnson
Edward E. Kallgren
Chris Kearney
Michael G.W. Lee
Raymond Marshall
Timothy Moppin
Stuart Plunkett
Lindbergh Porter
Vidhya Prabhakaran
Priya Sanger
Mark Schickman
James M. Seff
Stephanie Skaff
Thomas Smegal
Michael Traynor
Douglas R. Young