Thanksgiving offers legal professionals a moment for reflection on what makes you feel grateful. As lawyers, you navigate a high-stress profession that also brings substantial socioeconomic standing. Am Law 100 firms earned a not-too-shabby $131 billion in 2022. The U.S. legal services market, valued at $390 billion, is growing 4.5% annually. Among 1.3 million lawyers nationwide, many of you donate 50-80 hours yearly to pro bono work, with some firms doing far more.

And yet, why are so few lawyers actively addressing the alarming decline in U.S. rule of law? Since 2020, "Trust in many U.S. institutions, government accountability, and overall rule of law is considerably lower,” says Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of the nonprofit World Justice Project (WJP).