Former Delaware judge calls on corporate lawyers to defend rule of law

CORONADO ISLAND -- In an address to the 53rd Annual Securities Regulation Institute on Tuesday, former Delaware Chancery Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr. delivered a fiery call for corporate lawyers to prioritize integrity and the rule of law over expediency, drawing a standing ovation from a normally staid audience.

Strine framed his lecture, titled "Practicing Law in a Lawless Time," around the challenges facing the legal profession in the current complex regulatory and political environment.

"What distinguishes this moment from prior crises," Strine said, "is the extent to which those charged with enforcing the law may selectively apply or abdicate it. That places an extraordinary responsibility on corporate lawyers -- more than ever -- to counsel clients with unwavering fidelity to the law itself."

Though he did not name President Donald Trump, Strine appeared to be referencing Trump's efforts last year to punish law firms for representing clients he opposed, including those who sued him or his administration. While some firms sought accommodation, others pushed back -- most prominently Perkins Coie.

"It was a powerful speech," Liza L.S. Mark, a partner and chief representative and Shanghai office managing partner at Haynes and Boone, said later. "The charge of what he asked all of us to think about - making sure that you comply with the law and making sure that your client complies with the law - is something that we should all stive for."

Strine, now of counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, concluded his remarks by urging lawyers to embrace their special role as custodians of the law and exemplars of professional integrity. "In moments like these," he said, "our profession has the opportunity -- and the obligation -- to be at its best, to guide clients toward lawful, high-integrity conduct, and to reaffirm the principle that we are a nation under law."