Emory Law’s Center for International and Comparative Law invites you to attend an international webinar:
Defending the Rule of Law and Democracy in the United States – Lessons from Poland, Hungary and Beyond – experiences, strategies, and the role of legal profession
November 5th, 10am – 12:30pm (Eastern US time), Zoom: https://emory.zoom.us/j/93983271569
Meeting ID: 93983271569
Democratic institutions and the rule of law are facing sustained and evolving pressures in the United States. The experiences of Poland and Hungary offer important, practice-based insights into how legal systems and the legal profession can respond to democratic backsliding, institutional capture, and boost civic resistance.The webinar will create a space for U.S.-based legal scholars, practitioners, and students to engage in dialogue with lawyers, activists, and academics from Poland and Hungary, alongside U.S. counterparts. Moving beyond abstract diagnosis, the discussion will focus on lived experience, practical strategies, and the role of legal education in preparing future lawyers for a changing professional landscape. Inspired by recent scholarship emphasizing that litigation alone is insufficient (https://www.sir.advancedleadership.harvard.edu/articles/turning-back-tide-authoritarianism-international-lessons-us-legal-community), the webinar will explore how legal actors can combine doctrinal expertise with public engagement, storytelling, coalition-building, and ethical leadership to sustain democratic norms.
PROGRAM:
Opening (10 minutes)
Welcome and Framing:
Moderator/Host: Magdalena Tulibacka, CICL Director
- Overview of goals and structure
- Brief framing of key questions:
- What can comparative experience teach us?
- What is the role of lawyers and legal education today?
Panel 1: Lived Experience of Democratic Backsliding, and Strategies beyond the Courtroom (50 minutes)
Focus:
- Institutional changes affecting courts, prosecutors, and legal professions
- Experiences of resistance, adaptation, and recovery
Andras Kristof Kadar (Hungarian Helsinki Committee), Ewa Rutkowska (KRK Legal, Warsaw, Poland), Professor Wojciech Sadurski (Sydney), Leanne Webster (Carter Center)
Panel 2: Professional Responsibility, Ethical Challenges, and the Role of Legal Education (50 minutes)
Focus:
- Ethical obligations under institutional stress
- Risks faced by lawyers and judges
- Professional solidarity and fragmentation
Mieczysław (Mietek) Boduszyński (Pomona), The Honorable Nancy Gertner, United States District Court (Ret.), Prof. Samuel Issacharoff (NYU), Seth Kirschenbaum (Lotito & Kirschenbaum, Georgia Lawyers for the Rule of Law)
Roundtable Discussion (20 minutes),
Interactive segment with all speakers
Guiding questions:
- Where are the most meaningful opportunities for collective action?
- What should law students be learning now that they are not?
- What would you do differently if you could redesign legal education today?
Audience Q&A (20 minutes)
Moderated questions from students, academics, and practitioners
Closing Reflections – 5 minutes