The Lawyers Need To Make America Great

by Daniel H. Shulman

“Lawyers have their duties as citizens, but they also have special duties as lawyers. Their obligations go far deeper than earning a living as specialists in corporation or tax law. They have a continuing responsibility to uphold the fundamental principles of justice from which the law cannot depart.” ~Robert Kennedy

          I missed the 1960s, being born about two weeks before the Ford inauguration. Growing up, the first real social upheaval I recall was when Michael Jackson introduced the moonwalk on Motown 25, and it seems break dancing was born. Turning eighteen in time to vote for the first Clinton term, my adult life—my adult political life—has been remarkably peaceful, and passive. It is a hallmark of my generation, perhaps, that we have under-protested things that have deserved our notice. We have recognized so many things worthy of protest—violence, racism, social issues—but failed to mobilize en masse. And when we have, it seems we have not sustained any momentum.

         Now it seems different. I have found myself wondering, whimsically and with some admiration, if this is what it was like to live in the 1960s. The 1960s was an era of massive social mobilization. Of marches and speeches. Of grand protests and cultural upheaval. Of rebellion and redefinition. The 1960s mobilized a nation to usher in the Civil Right Act and the Voting Rights Act. The 1960s mobilized a nation to debate what it meant to be a patriot, and whether one could be a patriot even while vocally disagreeing (and demonstrating against) our own country. The 1960s redefined (for better or worse) the narrative of what it means to be an “American.”

         The same seems to be happening now. Whether you believe that our current President is a paradigm-breaking, swamp draining champion of American values, or a delusional, self-important bigot, there is an undeniable American ethos on display, and after decades of listlessness, it seems to be ready to mobilize.

         Which brings me back to the Robert Kennedy quote above. As a lawyer, I am used to the odd legal question at a dinner party. But these days, instead of “I have a friend who is getting evicted from his apartment,” I get questions like, “Can the President do that?” or “What’s the Ninth Circuit?” or “Can Congress veto an Executive Order?” Today’s times have certainly mobilized lawyers in traditional ways (see the international terminals at major airports). But they have also mobilized us in more subtle but equally important ways. Lawyers are called upon to make sense of the social upheaval of the day. Lawyers are called upon, more than ever, to explain our Constitution. Lawyers are needed, more than ever, to educate our friends, family and neighbors about how our system of government works, about who has what rights, and what each person can (or can’t) do about it.

         Lawyers today are being called upon to not just do. Lawyers are called upon to listen. To teach. We have a duty—beyond the court battles over what is right and wrong—to be involved in the dinner table battles over what our democracy stands for, and how it works.

         Despite my best judgment, I have found myself wading into thorny debates on Facebook with people on both sides. This is dangerous (and frustrating) territory. Beyond the policy debates, though, I have also found myself wading in to correct misconceptions, to educate my friends (and “friends”) about what the law is, and more importantly, about what the rule of law is. I have been mobilized to practice law in the purest sense, to make ordinary Americans understand that the law is essential to their American identity.

         I don’t know where this journey will take us as Americans. The spectrum seems to stretch from renewed global superpower to crumbling treasonous implosion. I do know, however, that lawyers will need to be mobilized to make sure whatever happens, our Constitution remains sacred, the rule of law is inviolable, and we emerge as a more educated, more engaged generation of Americans.

(Visit my Insights Hurt Blog for more of my thoughts)