Fifty years ago, on June 17, 1972, a team of five men was arrested for breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, located in Washington D.C.’s Watergate office complex.

And what was initially described as a “third rate burglary” ultimately devolved into a tortured three-year journey that overwhelmed the federal government and tested the foundation of American democracy. It is remembered most vividly for leading to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon in the face of impeachment proceedings. But it should also be remembered for the enormous, lasting damage it caused to public confidence in the ethics of the legal profession—and for the reasons why.