In an excellent article for The Atlantic, Bradley P. Moss, partner at the Washington, D.C., law office of Mark S. Zaid, P.C. sets out why any lawyer would be wrong to take on Trump’s election fraud cases.

Trump may not have to worry about keeping a job after January 20, 2021, but the lawyers doing his bidding at the moment certainly do.

The article strikes at the heart of what it means to be a lawyer and to uphold the principles of democracy and the Rule of Law.

Every individual has the right to hire the lawyer of his preference and choosing, subject to financial and ethical limitations. No individual has the right to require his lawyer to risk her professional career to assuage that person’s bruised ego. Indeed, lawyers are ethically bound to terminate representation of a client if continued representation would result in the lawyer violating the rules of professional conduct (such as Rule 3.1) or other laws.

Recognizing how close you can get to the line before you topple over it is something that each of the members of the Trump campaign’s outside legal team should be carefully considering these days. Their continued ability to be licensed attorneys might ultimately depend on it.

The article is part of the ‘Battle for the Constitution Project’ with the National Constitution Centre (NCC). The project features many articles and podcasts from leading lawyers, as well as an ‘interactive constitution’.

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