Support Grows for Department of Justice

As reported here last week, a group calling itself ‘Keep America Safe’ has taken issue with the Department of Justice for refusing to name attorneys who represented detainees at Guantanamo Bay while in private practice. In response to what it calls “a shameful series of attacks on attorneys in the Department of Justice,” a group of lawyers and the Brookings Institution have joined forces to denounce the criticism.

In a joint statement, the group cites America’s long legal tradition of representing those that are considered “unpopular.”

“The American tradition of zealous representation of unpopular clients is at least as old as John Adams’ representation of the British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre. People come to serve in the Justice Department with a diverse array of prior private clients; that is one of the department’s strengths,” the letter reads.

Among those that endorsed the letter with Brookings are several biglaw partners as well as other prominent names in the legal field. To read the full letter, click here.