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ABA task force sounds alarm on democracy threats, takes action

Two prominent former chief executives of global organizations urged the legal community to mobilize to defend the principles and processes of U.S. democracy while also underscoring the need of collective action to educate the public and business during a packed Aug. 2 luncheon at the American Bar Association 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago.

The luncheon kicked off the ABA Democracy Summit, a half-day series of events that focused on what ABA President Mary Smith called in opening remarks “the most consequential issue of our time – threats to democracy.”

The former CEOs – Carly Fiorina who headed technology giant Hewlett-Packard and Ken Frazier of pharmaceutical Merck – discussed the challenges facing democracy in America today with moderator Judy Woodruff, longtime television journalist best known for her work at PBS NewsHour. All three are members of the ABA Task Force for American Democracy, which earlier in the day released a statement outlining the critical role lawyers should play in restoring trust in our democracy.

Woodruff opened the conversation by noting she is working on a news project focused on why “America is so divided” and observed that the polarization might be the greatest since the Civil War more than 160 years ago. She pointed to the “disagreement of the facts whatever the issue is” and that “people today more than ever have different places they go to for news.”

In their discussion, both Fiorina and Frazier praised the ABA for its efforts in seeking to preserve democratic principles and processes. The task force and Democracy Summit were developed by President Smith as signature priorities of her term.

Fiorina and Frazier also explored the reasons for the strong divisions in the U.S. and what can be done about them. Frazier is a lawyer and longtime ABA member; Fiorina said she dropped out of law school in her first year before rising to become a corporate executive.

“We do not know our history,” Fiorina said, suggesting that is one of the reasons the country is divided. She said most citizens don’t know American ideals, principles, processes and the rule of law.

Frazier, who retired as CEO in 2022 after 30 years at Merck, observed that lawyers need to take a stand on the “defense of democracy and defense of the rule of law.”

“If lawyers don’t take a stand for those two things,” he said, “who else will do it?”

At the luncheon, ABA President Smith praised the work already being done to protect U.S. democracy. She honored 22 individuals and organizations with the democracy task force’s Unsung Heroes of Democracy medals and awarded Presidential Citations to Frazier, as well as task force co-chairs Jeh Johnson, former secretary of U.S. Homeland Security, and retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig.

Beyond the mobilization of legal professionals, Fiorina and Fraser urged businesses ── small and large── to become more involved in promoting democracy as well as its principles and processes in a nonpartisan way. They embraced ideas of giving employees time off to vote, work the polls and generally educate their workforces on democracy.

“Businesses can and should remind people of our fundamental principles and processes,” Fiorina said, noting that people listen to local business pillars as well as global CEOs.

Frazier also offered an idea for corporate America: establish an organization to “preserve democracy and the rule of law,” similar to the Business Roundtable that lobbies for big business issues such as tax policy. He said a new coalition was needed to “counter” the distrust and anger that many Americans feel toward a variety of institutions today that he said is “unprecedented in my lifetime.”

Both urged American corporate leaders to find a collective voice in a nonpartisan way.

“There is safety in the herd,” Fiorina said, urging leaders generally to “stand up” for democratic principles and processes.