In a display of solidarity, more than 200 local attorneys raised their right hands Thursday at the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle and repeated in unison the oath they took years or decades ago when they first joined the Washington State Bar Association.
Led by King County Superior Court Presiding Judge Ketu Shah, the attorneys vowed to support the state constitution and the U.S. Constitution, to abide by the rules of professional conduct and maintain respect for courts and judicial officers. They promised to preserve their clients' secrets and to never try to mislead a judge or jury through artifice or false statements.
Dressed in a mix of suits and casual wear, the lawyers packed the largest courtroom in the building to retake the oath of attorney, a first-of-its-kind event organized as part of the National Law Day of Action to reaffirm their commitment to the rule of law. Similar events were held across the state and country, including at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent and, in Seattle, at the Clark Children and Family Justice Center and the law schools at the University of Washington and Seattle University.
Though President Donald Trump's name was never said aloud during the 30-minute ceremony, Erin Overbey, president of the King County Bar Association, referenced Trump's attacks on some of the country's largest law firms. Two of them with Seattle offices — Perkins Coie and Susman Godfrey — are suing the federal government to block executive orders issued in recent weeks over their representation of certain clients and use of diversity, equity and inclusion considerations in their hiring practices.
More than a dozen court commissioners and superior court and court of appeals judges filed into the ninth-floor courtroom in black robes as Shah took the podium. Retired Washington Supreme Court Justice Faith Ireland, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison and Metropolitan King County Councilmember Jorge Barón, who is also an attorney, were among the dignitaries who sat in the jury box.
Criticism of lawyers and judges is nothing new, but those critical voices have become amplified to such an extent that "the very foundation of courts and the rule of law are being challenged," Shah said. But he said it is the people who are party to any kind of legal action that will be most affected by any breakdown in the rule of law.
"When our citizens disagree, they need a system and a rule to rely upon to resolve that dispute peacefully and predictably," he said. "It can be the government versus an individual. It can be spouses disagreeing about custody. It can be businesses trying to enforce an agreement. It is that social contract we all agree on so that we can live together cooperatively ... and move forward as a society."
The rule of law has a long history, dating back to the Code of Hammurabi, a collection of 282 laws developed during the Babylonian Empire around 1750 B.C.E. and was a precursor to English common law, said Shah, who went on to reference Indian epics from the eighth century B.C.E. as well as Aristotle, John Locke and Thomas Paine.
"Fundamentally, it is a political and legal ideal that all people and institutions are subject to, including lawmakers, government officials and judges," Shah said. "It is sometimes stated that no one is above the law or that all are equal before the law.
"It is a process, an institution, a practice that supports the equality of all citizens before the law and prevents the arbitrary use of power," he said.
Diana Singleton, the chief equity and justice officer for the Washington State Bar Association, said she vividly recalls taking the attorney's oath nearly 27 years ago and how she was both nervous and excited to become "a newbie attorney."
"I remember feeling the weight of the oath I was taking, and I remember feeling proud to join the legal profession," she said. "Today, I have similar feelings — pride, nervousness and the weight of the oath — but for different reasons.
"I'm nervous about the attempts to erode the rule of law and the public's confidence in our legal system, but I'm proud to be part of a profession that upholds the Constitution as a cornerstone of our democracy."
Overbey, the King County Bar Association president, admitted to becoming complacent and taking the rule of law for granted.
"But no more," she said. "We live in a time now where judicial officers are being attacked for doing their job, interpreting and applying the law.
"They are threatened with impeachment. They are publicly called names for the work that they are doing," Overbey said. "We have members of our own profession right here in Seattle — Perkins Coie, Susman Godfrey — both singled out in executive orders by our current president and both of them courageously pushing back in support of the rule of law."
Noting that Washington's oath of attorney is longer than those of most other states, Shah said, "I think that just goes to show how much thought and deliberation has gone into our oath."
He then asked the attorneys to all rise, raise their right hands and repeat after him.
They did, their voices following Shah's cadence as they again made their pledge, which ends with a vow to abstain from all offensive personalities and to never reject the cause of the defenseless or oppressed.
"I hope it never comes to it, but it's clear to me this community is ready to go to the mat. That was the energy, that was the conviction of every one of these attorneys today," King County Superior Court Judge Sean O'Donnell said as people began filing out of the courtroom.
Medora Marisseau, an employment attorney with the Seattle firm Ogden Murphy Wallace, said lawyers must uphold the law so they can help people resolve disputes and navigate a complex legal system.
Taking the attorney's oath is "no different than getting married," she said. "You're making a commitment for life."
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