Following the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a prominent group of conservative and libertarian lawyers known as the Federalist Society was faced with significant internal upheaval. Members grappled with how to respond to the event, and whether the organization should publicly distance itself from the then-president, Donald Trump. Now, several years later, the division among right-wing lawyers regarding Trump’s influence is still evident. Some lawyers feel that more needs to be done to prevent Trump’s potential return to the White House, and express belief that the Federalist Society has not sufficiently addressed this issue. This has prompted the formation of a new nonprofit organization, the Society for the Rule of Law.
The founders include former Wachtell Lipton partner George Conway, former Fourth Circuit judge J. Michael Luttig, and former congresswoman Barbara Comstock. According to them, the new organization positions itself as a collective of conservative lawyers committed to foundational constitutional principles, including “the primacy of American democracy, the sanctity of the Constitution, and the rule of law.”
The Society for the Rule of Law bears similarity in its professed commitment to the Constitution and rule of law with the Federalist Society. However, the founders assert that their organization will take action where the Federalist Society has failed — notably in speaking out against “the constitutional and other legal excesses of Mr. Trump and his administration.” As part of their mission, the group announced its launch on Nov. 6 as a successor to Checks and Balances, a group formed in 2018 by equally concerned lawyers during the Trump administration.
Planned activities for the new society will include issuing statements and filing amicus briefs, actions the Federalist Society does not traditionally engage in. Importantly, the Society for the Rule of Law also comprises an affiliated 501(c)(4) entity, the Society for the Rule of Law Institute, which can endorse or oppose political candidates – an action the 501(c)(3) organization is restricted from doing.
The founders hope that the Society for the Rule of Law can contribute to a safeguarding of democracy, particularly from Trump and his allies, all the while acknowledging that the organization’s need may endure past its initial mission due to the lasting effects of Trump’s actions upon American democracy.