Wednesday, November 12 @1PM ET
Wednesday, November 12 @1PM ET
Honoring Our Founding Visionary: R. William Ide III
A Lifelong Commitment to the Rule of Law
For William “Bill” Ide, co-founder of the Task Force for American Democracy, this work represented the capstone of a lifelong commitment to protecting the rule of law and constitutional rights. A great-great-grandson of one of Abraham Lincoln’s law partners, Bill felt a personal duty to use the law as a force for progress and integrity in public life.
Using the Law for Good
As a judicial clerk to future U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell, Bill witnessed firsthand the legal dismantling of segregation in the American South. He became one of Atlanta’s leading lawyers, co-founding Georgia Legal Services and helping to establish the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), expanding opportunity and access across the region.
Bill’s expertise and integrity earned him the trust of leaders across sectors. He served in leadership roles with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, several major corporations, Clark Atlanta University, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the Conference Board’s Governance Center.
Defending Democracy at Home and Abroad
Bill served as President of the American Bar Association from 1994 to 1995, where he championed efforts to strengthen the rule of law and expand access to justice. His presidency laid the foundation for his later global work promoting legal reform and democratic governance.
At the time, he noted, “The legal profession cannot stand apart from the public’s concerns. We must actively engage to restore trust and ensure justice serves everyone.”
Following his term, Bill chaired the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative from 1997 to 2009 and played a leading role in the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (CEELI), collaborating with colleagues such as Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to support the development of independent judicial systems in emerging democracies.
As the rule of law came under increasing pressure in the United States in recent years, Bill reflected that the same principles he had championed abroad were now urgently needed at home.
Founding the Task Force for American Democracy
In 2023, Bill partnered with ABA President Mary Smith to establish the Task Force for American Democracy, a blue-ribbon commission co-chaired by former federal judge J. Michael Luttig and former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, to help restore trust in democratic institutions and reinforce the rule of law in the United States.
“Stepping into the role of American Bar Association President and following in the footsteps of visionary leaders like Bill Ide was an honor,” said Mary Smith. “But the true honor of a lifetime was partnering with Bill day in and day out to confront one of the defining issues of our time—the threats to the rule of law and to our democracy. His passion, commitment, and integrity guided his work until his last moments, and his legacy continues to propel the urgent mission of the Task Force for American Democracy forward.”
Bill’s unflagging energy helped the Task Force build a nationwide network of volunteer lawyers, conduct listening tours across the country, recruit more than 100 law school deans to commit to teaching the rule of law, and host a series of election-law forums with the Knight Foundation.
In February 2024, during the Task Force’s listening tour in Atlanta, the first of six visits to key swing states, Bill concluded the session by urging participants to take ownership of democracy:
“All of us own democracy, if we will just own it. But we have to learn it, then we have to speak out, then we have to take action.”
Carrying the Vision Forward
With the ABA Task Force’s term set to expire in August 2025, Bill recognized that its work needed not only to continue, but to grow—addressing the rising threats to the rule of law across the nation.
Before his passing in July 2025 at the age of 85, Bill helped to outline a vision for a new nonprofit—one that would continue and expand the Task Force’s mission by mobilizing America’s 1.3 million lawyers and 1,300 bar associations to defend democracy in their communities.
In his memory, and guided by his vision, the leadership team behind the ABA Task Force established the Task Force for American Democracy as an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to carrying this vital work forward.
Continuing Bill Ide’s Legacy
Bill’s optimism and purpose continue to inspire everyone who worked alongside him. In his memory, the Ide family has launched the Bill Ide Memorial Fund to support the ongoing mission of the Task Force for American Democracy.
You can contribute through our fiscal sponsor, APIAHF, using this link or by mailing a check to:
APIAHF
Attn: TFAD – Bill Ide Memorial Fund
1444 I Street NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
Thank you for honoring Bill’s legacy in any way you can and, most importantly, for continuing his call to “learn, speak up, and take action” to protect our democracy.
