Press release / 2026 World Day of the Endangered Lawyer: United States
As part of the World Day of the Endangered Lawyer on 24 January, the International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD)is dedicating its 2026 edition to the worrying situation of lawyers in the United States.
Historically considered a stable democracy, the United States is experiencing increased political pressure, smear campaigns and attacks on the independence of lawyers and other legal professionals.
These trends particularly affect professionals working on sensitive issues such as civil rights, immigration, police violence, the environment and electoral justice.
In particular, the Observatory has noticed an increase in online intimidation, targeted investigations and measures likely to discourage lawyers from taking on certain cases, thereby compromising access to justice. These situations were previously reported in March 2025, when the US administration imposed sanctions on the staff of the International Criminal Court and on law firms in the country.
This is a reminder that no country, even one with solid institutions, is immune to a decline in the rule of law.
As it does every year on this World Day, the OIAD has published a detailed brochure, available in several languages, as well as a mobilisation kit and a poster, which the Observatory encourages you to display within your institutions.
The International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk invites Bars, associations, institutions and citizens to raise awareness on this situation, to organise events and to distribute the tools made available to them.
All the documentation is available on our website: https://protect-lawyers.org/en/international-day/.
For further information, please contact us at: contact@protect-lawyers.org
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The OIAD has 42 active members:
- France: CNB, Bars: Aix-en-Provence, Hauts-de-Seine, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg, Tours
- Spain: Consejo General de la Abogacía Española, Colegios de la Abogacía: Barcelona, Bizkaia, Madrid, Talavera, Pamplona
- Italy: Consiglio Nazionale Forense, Ordini degli Avvocati: Bologna, Brescia, Messina, Milano, Modena, Monza, Padova, Patti, Roma, Rovereto, Torino, Verona
- Germany: Bar associations: Hamm, Cologne
- Switzerland: Bars: Geneva, Neuchâtel, Vaudois
- Belgium: Brussels Bar
- Turkey: Diyarbakir and Istanbul Bars
- Cameroon: Cameroon Bar
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Lualaba Bar Association
- Mexico: Ilustre y Nacional Colegio de Abogados México
And 18 associate members: Afghanistan Independent Bar Association in Exile, Avocats Européens Démocrates, ASF France, Berliner Anwaltsverein e.V, Belarusian Association for Human Rights Lawyers, China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, Conférence des Bâtonniers, CCBE, Défense sans Frontières – Avocats Solidaires, Endangered Lawyers – Avvocati Minacciati, FNUJA, IDHBP, Lawyers for Lawyers, SAF, UJA Aix-en-Provence, The Arrested Lawyers Initiative, Union des Jeunes Avocats de Marseille, Association des Juristes Progressistes de Genève, Union Nationales des Avocats (UIA), Asociación de Abogadas y Abogados, Jueces y Fiscales de América Latina y El Caribe (AJUFIDH) and Belarusian Association for Human Rights Lawyers (BAHRL).
