Attacks on rule of law will fail because lawyers 'are fierce' and 'very resourceful,' says DC Bar president-elect
After U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was sworn in earlier this year, she reportedly began to purge career Department of Justice lawyers. In April, she said the DOJ would find and prosecute “deranged” judges helping immigrants avoid arrest. More recently, an ethics complaint submitted to the Florida Bar accused Bondi of pressuring DOJ lawyers to act unethically.
Considering those things, some eyebrows were raised when her brother Brad Bondi, also a lawyer, entered the D.C. Bar elections to run for the president-elect spot. The June election had a record number of voters, with more than 38,000 ballots, compared to 7,500 in the last election. And Brad Bondi, the global co-chair of Paul Hastings’ investigations and white-collar defense practice, lost to employment lawyer Diane Seltzer, who won with more than 90% of the vote.
Washington, D.C., bar members “unflinchingly locked arms to make sure that we have a leader who has the qualifications its president should have and whose values—No. 1 being preserving the rule of law—reflect their values,” Seltzer says.
In a statement, Brad Bondi said he was “disgusted by how rabid partisans lurched this election into the political gutter, turning a professional campaign into baseless attacks, identity politics and partisan recrimination.”
Protecting the rule of law is Seltzer’s top value. She’s also had positions with the ABA. That includes serving as co-chair of the ABA Litigation Section’s employment and labor relations committee and as co-chair of the section’s solo and small law firm committee. Additionally, she was a vice-chair and a co-chair of the Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division’s litigation committee.
“The attacks will fail because lawyers are fighters, and judges will follow the law,” she says. “We are fierce; we care deeply about justice; and we are very, very resourceful in finding ways to make sure we prevail.”
Seltzer begins her term as president-elect of the D.C. Bar for the 2025-2026 term July 1. She spoke with the ABA Journal about the election and the issues facing lawyers today.
The battle for D.C. Bar president got a lot of media attention for something that generally goes under the radar. What was your perspective on the media scrutiny?
To me, the election was about someone (me) with decades of involvement and over 13 years of leadership experience in the D.C. Bar running against someone who had no such experience. So the real issue was, what was best for the bar and its members? The media scrutiny and interest made complete sense to me. Of course, the media would care about why someone closely linked to the current administration would suddenly vie for the top position with the D.C. Bar because the interest certainly appeared to come out of nowhere. The media wanted to explore the differences in the candidates and the platforms—and rightly so.
What was your first reaction when you found out that Brad Bondi was also running for D.C. Bar president?
My first reaction was, “Oh, what a funny coincidence to have the same last name as the attorney general.” And then I soon learned they were siblings and thought, “OK, this could get interesting.”
You won decisively. What was your reaction to the way lawyers voted for you?
I was literally overjoyed. My kids were there, and we just started smiling and hugging when I got the call.
What makes Washington, D.C., different from other areas where lawyers practice?
Washington is a big city but also small town—is there anywhere else in the country where there are so many lawyers within a few square miles? I don’t think so. And we are very familiar with each other, very collegial, very supportive of each other. Our bar is full of bright, energetic overachievers who constantly lift each other up.
What are your goals for the D.C. Bar during your term as president?
I want to meet with our members and see what they need from the bar to feel safe practicing law and representing the clients they want to represent. I want to make sure our bar can offer the support that our members need, so we can go back to worrying about whether we missed a case in our brief or prepared enough for our trial, rather than worrying if we are going to wake up to some form of retaliation for doing our jobs or filing a lawsuit because our client was denied due process by the government. I’m an employment lawyer, and I am seeing things I have never seen in almost 34 years of practicing law. And not always in a good way. On a lighter note, I want to strengthen our relationships and collaborations with our voluntary and affinity bar associations. There is so much we can do together, and I want to capitalize on our synergy. It can’t all be heavy. That’s not sustainable. e need to enjoy being lawyers and enjoy the relationships we have with other members of our profession.
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