I am honored to have been asked to write the foreword to this Special Edition of Stanford’s Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and to introduce you to the work of some of my colleagues, friends, and mentors on the Stanford Law School faculty. The focus of this edition is the role that law students and lawyers can play in protecting rights, liberties, and a healthy environment under a new president whose statements as a candidate and early actions indicate a significant retrenchment from gains made in these areas over the last several decades.