In a critical example of growing accountability for lawyers instrumental in the effort to overthrow the 2020 election, Rudolph Giuliani spent days participating in a hearing, where actual evidence will be required if he wants to maintain his license to practice law.

But we start with the basics. In our democracy, accountability is at the core of the legal system—the principle that we are all responsible before the law. Lawyers have a special role to play in supporting and protecting that legal system, and there are ethical rules and standards that hold them to account if they stray from their obligations. These basic rules help separate democracies from more autocratic forms of government.