2021 National Convention: The Meaning, Mode, and Value of Accountability

Who should be held accountable for the various transgressions of the Trump administration (or a future administration that similarly transgresses), in what way, and who decides? Where legal and ethics codes are violated, such decisions may be clear, but that may not always be the case. From the former president, down through high-level officials and lower-ranking attorneys who carried out the administration’s agenda, accountability is being sought for the undermining of the 2020 election and ensuing incitement to attack the Capitol, its family separation policy, the travel ban, the attack on Black Lives Matter protesters in Lafayette Park, and much more. Are law firms and universities that hire former administration officials “laundering” their reputations? Issues to be addressed by this panel may include censure, disbarment, civil litigation, and other mechanisms for holding lawyers and public officials accountable.

Panelists:
Kimberly Atkins, Senior Opinion Writer, The Boston Globe, Moderator
Christine Chung, Steering Committee, Lawyers Defending American Democracy
Molly Coleman, Executive Director, People’s Parity Project
Erica Newland, Counsel, Protect Democracy
Rebecca Roiphe, Trustee Professor of Law, Co-Dean for Faculty Scholarship, New York Law School