The evidence is compelling that the actions of the Chinese government are directly responsible for the pandemic, which has had especially severe consequences here in New York. Yet there has not been one article in the Law Journal about seeking damages from them for the carnage they have caused. In a similar vein, for three years the Law Journal has published articles questioning the wisdom and legality of federal directives on a virtual daily basis. Now, in the midst of public officials making pronouncements that flout or ignore the Constitution, the Law Journal is silent. Shame on the Law Journal. Shame on all of us. We, as attorneys, are in a sacred position to question and challenge. Now more than ever is the time to exercise that role. I remind the readers of the motto of the Royal Society of London, which goes back to the 1600s:  Nullius In Verba, Latin for "take nobody's word for it."

Stuart M. Rissoff

Attorney, Carle Place, N.Y.