In
the
year
of
our
lord
2024,
it’s
almost
expected
that
Election
Day
will
not
be
the
end
of
the
actual
election.
In
the
last
presidential
election,
it
took
three
days
and
628
cases
before
a
winner
was
declared.
But
not
all
those
cases
were
actually
necessary
to
the
democratic
process
—
indeed,
many
of
them
were
designed
to
disenfranchise
voters
and
sow
the
seeds
of
mistrust
in
the
election
process.
In
the
face
of
this
reality,
a
letter
(available
in
full
below)
was
written
by
past
presidents
of
state,
local,
and
national
bar
associations
warning
lawyers
that
as
members
of
the
bar,
they’re
“duty-bound
to
ensure”
any
lawsuits
filed
are
“backed
by
law
and
free
from
any
intent
to
harass
or
waste
the
court’s
time,”
and
reminding
them
that
a
“baseless
lawsuit
not
only
squanders
judicial
resources
but
also
undermines
the
public’s
trust
in
our
democracy
and
our
profession.”
And
while
the
letter
carefully
avoids
any
explicit
partisan
callouts,
you
and
I
both
know
this
is
a
warning
to
Donald
Trump’s
legal
team.
Because
MAGA
lawyers
from
2020
are
exactly
the
cautionary
tale
for
attorneys:
We’ve
been
here
before.
Following
the
2020
election,
some
628
legal
cases
were
filed
alleging
fraud
or
impropriety,
and
they
were
overwhelmingly
unsuccessful.
Many
were
voluntarily
dismissed.
Others
were
dismissed
due
to
lack
of
standing
or
evidence.
Five
lawyers
connected
to
these
cases
were
disbarred
or
had
their
licenses
suspended,
with
others
reprimanded.
One
such
lawyer
candidly
admitted,
“We’ve
got
lots
of
theories;
we
just
don’t
have
the
evidence.”These
lawyers
not
only
lost
their
licenses
and
tarnished
their
reputations;
they
also
betrayed
their
communities
and
the
American
public.
Their
baseless
cases
stirred
confusion
and
anger
locally
and
across
the
nation,
inciting
threats
against
election
officials,
workers,
judges
and
their
staff.
These
actions
likely
contributed
to
the
January
6
assault
on
the
Capitol
and
have
further
eroded
public
trust
in
our
justice
system
and
our
constitutional
democracy.
The
letter
goes
on
to
pretty
much
beg
attorneys
not
to
cravenly
file
lawsuits
they
know
are
without
merit
in
order
to
further
their
political
ambitions.
As
legal
professionals,
we
must
hold
ourselves
to
the
highest
ethical
standards
to
avoid
a
repeat
of
these
events.
With
this
election,
we
call
on
our
colleagues
to
remember
our
duties
as
lawyers
and
as
guardians
of
the
rule
of
law.
When
it
is
our
conduct
that
improperly
causes
Americans
to
lose
confidence
in
the
rule
of
law
and
in
our
democracy,
we
have
done
a
disservice
not
only
to
our
profession,
but
also
to
our
nation.
We’ll
see
if
anyone
in
MAGAland
heeds
the
warning.
Letter
of
Former
Bar
Presidents
Concerning
Ele
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].