For the first time in 30 years of law teaching, today, I had to explain to my students our constitutional democracy is in such jeopardy we must be alert to the possibility that our political conditions will make it ethically impossible to become a lawyer. 1/

I also explained that because the ethical viability of our entire system of law and government is on the line, it is now important to for them to gain knowledge and skills they can use to strengthen and redeem the promise of law in service of constitutional democracy. 2/

If I come to believe that our political system becomes so divorced from rule of law that there is no way to practice law without serving authoritarianism, I will not teach law students headed for practice. 3/

For now, I will redouble my usual efforts to instill in students a critical perspective on the law while also teaching the tools of the trade. 4/4