Not enough people are talking about the water crisis in Jackson, MS. On Tuesday, the Mississippi governor declared a state of emergency for Jackson’s water system, the city’s largest treatment plant. Most of the city’s 150,000 residents are without running water, having to rely on bottled water for drinking, showering, brushing their teeth, and cooking.
3.5 days at the U.S./Mexico border
The following is an account of the work of Lawyers for Good Government’s (L4GG) Project Corazon staff over the course of just three and a half days last week. Project Corazon is an immigrants’ rights initiative dedicated to defending the human rights of migrants, and runs a legal clinic for asylum seekers in the Rio Grande Valley (Matamoros and Reynosa, MX). Please note: client names have been changed to protect their privacy.
What can YOU do to fight for abortion access after Dobbs?
UPDATE - Please Join our Emergency Call on Tuesday, 6/28 at 3pm ET - How Lawyers Can Fight for Abortion Access and Other Civil and Human Rights. This is an on-demand webinar and all registrants will receive a copy of the webinar (even if you’re reading this after 6/28).
The Supreme Court today ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, an indefensible decision that strips away a fundamental and constitutional right to bodily autonomy. It’s a shattering blow that will harm millions and impact all of us.
Half of the states in the U.S. are now likely to follow suit and severely restrict or ban abortion. As a result, even more people will be forced to travel hundreds of miles out of state or carry pregnancies to term against their will in violation of their human rights.
Millions of individuals across the U.S. still need abortion care. The right to decide whether or when to have a child is essential for social, economic, and racial equality.
DOING NOTHING IN THE FACE OF THIS DECISION IS NOT AN OPTION.
Here are 4 concrete things you can do to help fight for abortion access:
Get Informed: Learn what the Dobbs decision means for your state or territory. What is the current status of abortion access in your state? Do you know if your state has a pre-Roe ban on abortion that was never repealed and might be enforced once again? Does your state have a trigger ban that is intended to ban abortion if the Supreme Court limits or overturns Roe? To learn more about the status of abortion rights in your state or territory, we recommend two policy maps, one from the Center for Reproductive Rights and one from Guttmacher Institute here.
Volunteer your time and expertise to help protect abortions in your state. We must pursue proactive protections beyond the courts and focus our efforts on building power from the ground up, at the state and local levels. Below are a few ways you can do that.
If you’re a lawyer or a law student, sign up for L4GG’s new State Legislative Advocacy Academy, a first-of-its-kind training series for lawyers to learn how to use their unique skills and privilege to influence public policy in their home states. Members of our initial lawyer cohort will go through a multi-part training in the fall of 2022 ready to fight for abortion access and other key issues in their own state during the 2023 legislative session.
If you’re a lawyer at a large law firm, ask your pro bono coordinator whether your firm is a Pro Bono Partner of L4GG. If your firm is already a partner, there may be opportunities forthcoming for you to volunteer for abortion access projects that our policy team is working on. If your firm would like to learn more about partnering with us, please ask your pro bono coordinator to email us at probono@L4GG.org.
If none of the above opportunities is applicable to you, but you'd still like to help, make sure you’re on our email list and check the websites of some of our organizational allies for other ways to volunteer - The Brigid Alliance and the Center for Reproductive Rights are good places to start.
Donate to the L4GG Action Fund to advance state protections to abortion access and other issues of civil and human rights. L4GG is working on two fronts to protect abortion access and we need your support. First, we’re launching the above-mentioned Advocacy Academy this fall that will mobilize lawyers nationwide to influence public policy in their own states on issues like reproductive and racial justice. Second, we are working in coalition with leading abortion access groups to ensure they have the legal resources they need to enact new state-level protections of abortion care, including providing them with pro bono volunteers and trained state legislative advocates from our Advocacy Academy.
Support providers, patients, abortion funds, and clinics on the ground. If abortion is protected in your state, support your local providers with the resources they will need to serve out-of-state patients in light of Dobbs. If abortion is not protected in your state, consider supporting the Brigid Alliance or your local Abortion Fund to cover procedures, transportation, lodging, and more. The National Network of Abortion Funds is a great place to start.
If you’re unable to offer money, time, or expertise right now, you can still help by sharing this post with your friends, family, and contacts via email, Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks. Please help us get the word out.
The L4GG Action Fund is a 501(c)4 nonprofit, and as such donations are not tax-deductible.
L4GG Publishes Joint Report with New Georgia Project on Ballot Selfies
Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), the nation’s largest community of attorneys committed to human rights and equal justice for all, and New Georgia Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit voting rights and civic engagement organization in Georgia, today released a report on ‘ballot selfies’, or the practice of taking photos of oneself at the ballot box and/or with their ballots.
A ballot selfie is when a person takes a photo of themselves holding their marked ballot and usually uploads the photo to a social media account to show friends that they voted, and for whom they voted. Ballot selfies are a great way to promote voting and engage with one’s community, yet many states have laws that prohibit them. Advocacy organizations are concerned that laws prohibiting ballot selfies are tools of voter suppression, and another way to criminalize ordinary behavior.
Click here to download “Selfie-Defense Training: Understanding and Reforming Laws that Ban Photographing and Sharing Your Ballot”
The report found that ballot selfies are completely legal in 28 states, and illegal in 13 states. Five states have laws prohibiting ballot selfies at polling locations, but not when casting a mail-in or absentee ballot. Six states have laws governing ballot selfies that are unclear. The report calls for states to update their laws to explicitly allow voters the right to take a ballot selfie, and prevent voter fraud and bribery without curtailing free speech.
L4GG's Spring 2022 Newsletter is here!
We’re at a critical time in the fight for human rights — between the invasion of Ukraine, the legislative attacks on bodily autonomy and the worsening climate crisis, the situation seems dire. But I am heartened by the way the Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) community of lawyers and advocates has risen to meet the moment.
For example, we’ve kicked off our TPS Pro Bono Project for Ukraine, we’re teaching municipalities how to access funding for green infrastructure, shedding light on corporal punishment in public schools and much more.
Take a look at our newsletter below to learn more, and if you want to help us continue this vital work, consider making a donation.
Ukrainians Receive Free Legal Help to Apply for U.S. Immigration Status
Pro Bono Lawyers from 130 Major Law Firms and Companies Are Volunteering to Help Ukrainians in the U.S. to Apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and a broad coalition of 130 law firms and companies have partnered to launch the TPS Pro Bono Project for Ukraine, a nationwide pro bono remote legal clinic to provide legal services for Ukrainian nationals in the U.S. to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Interested Ukrainians who would like to request free legal assistance in filing for TPS should click HERE and fill out the online screening form: L4GG.org/TPS-Ukraine.
Eligible Ukrainian nationals will be offered free legal assistance from pro bono attorneys who can help answer legal questions and assist in applying for TPS. TPS is a form of immigration relief offered to foreign nationals in the United States whose home countries are considered unsafe, and provides the right to live and work in the United States for a temporary period. The Biden Administration designated Ukraine for TPS in early March of 2022, and has declared that Ukrainian nationals who entered the U.S. on or before April 11, 2022 are eligible to apply.
The initiative has recruited more than 2,400 attorney volunteers. A full list of participating law firms and companies is below. Additionally, the clinic was launched with financial support from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Alston & Bird LLP, Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, Comcast NBCUniversal, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, DLA Piper LLP US, Eversheds Sutherland, Fenwick & West LLP, Foley Hoag LLP, GE, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, K&L Gates, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, King & Spalding, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Linklaters LLP, McGuireWoods LLP, Nelson Mullins, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, PayPal, Inc., Robins Kaplan LLP, Seyfarth Shaw, Sidley Austin LLP, Verizon Communications, White & Case LLP, and the Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation.
“TPS is an important tool to safeguard lives, increase economic stability, and keep families united during a time of unprecedented uncertainty for Ukrainians,” said Traci Feit Love, Executive Director of Lawyers for Good Government. “We are proud to mobilize the legal community in support of this project and are grateful to the 130 law firms and companies who are standing beside us to serve the Ukrainian community.”
“Ukrainians in the United States are facing a period of extreme instability, in which they cannot return to their home country, and do not know what they will find when they can eventually return,” said Jacqueline Haberfeld, Global Program Director and Pro Bono Counsel at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. “As lawyers, we feel fortunate to have the skills necessary to help relieve them of the burden of concern about their immigration status, and to be able to help them obtain permission to work and support themselves while they shelter in the United States during the war.”
The TPS Pro Bono Project for Ukraine is an initiative of L4GG’s Project Corazon, an immigrants’ rights program defending the rights of asylum seekers and other migrants. Project Corazon runs a legal clinic in the Rio Grande Valley that provides legal assistance to asylum seekers, with a focus on serving particularly vulnerable asylum seekers, such as those with medical or psychological conditions, disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and third-language speakers.
If resources allow, L4GG hopes to expand the TPS Pro Bono Project for Ukraine to provide legal assistance to nationalities of other countries designated for TPS, such as Afghans, Haitians, Venezuelans, Cameroonians, and more.
Full List of Participating Law Firms and Companies:
Akerman LLP
Alpert, Slobin & Rubenstein, LLP
Alpha Medical
Alston & Bird LLP
Amgen
Arnold & Porter
Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP
BakerHostetler
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Blank Rome
Bloomberg
BNY Mellon
Brainly
Bristol Myers Squibb
Buckley LLP
Cable & Wireless Communications LLC
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
Clark Hill PLC
Cohen & Siegel
Cohen Ziffer Frenchman and McKenna
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Comcast NBCUniversal
Crowell & Moring LLP
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Dechert LLP
DLA Piper LLP US
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Dykema
Elastic
Eversheds Sutherland
F5, Inc.
Fennemore
Fenwick & West LLP
Fidelity Investments
Fish & Richardson P.C.
Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley Hoag LLP
Ford Motor Company
Fragomen
Freshfields US LLP
GE
Goodwin Procter LLP
Hogan Lovells
Holland & Hart LLP
Hopin
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
IBM
Infineon Technologies
Intel
International Legal Counsels PC (d/b/a femida.us)
Irwin IP LLC
Jackson Lewis P.C.
Jenner & Block LLP
JPMorgan Chase
K&L Gates
Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Linklaters LLP
Loeb & Loeb LLP
Lyft, Inc.
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Mayer Brown LLP
McCarter & English, LLP
McDermott Will & Emery LLP
McGuireWoods LLP
Milbank
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P. C.
Nelson Mullins
Norton Rose Fulbright
Orrick
Pacific Life Insurance Company
Paramount Global
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP
PayPal, Inc.
Pfizer
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Pro Bono Strategies
Reed Smith LLP
RELX, Inc.
Robins Kaplan LLP
Robinson & Cole LLP
Ropes & Gray LLP
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
Seyfarth Shaw
Shearman & Sterling
Sheppard Mullin
Sidley Austin LLP
JM Family Enterprises, Inc.
Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
State Farm
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Stroock
USAA
Vault Health
Verizon Communications
White & Case LLP
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
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Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) coordinates large scale pro bono programs and issue advocacy efforts to protect human rights and ensure equal justice under the law, and has a network of 125,000+ lawyers to assist in its efforts.
Kirkland & Ellis is committed to providing legal services without charge to those who cannot afford counsel, with the goals of improving lives, bettering communities and deepening our attorneys’ professional experience. Kirkland attorneys at all levels pursue pro bono matters dealing with a variety of issues such as immigration, disability rights, civil rights, prisoner rights, death penalty cases and criminal appeals, guardianship, veterans’ benefits, and the representation of nonprofit organizations, among other areas. In 2021, Kirkland devoted more than 122,000 hours of free legal service to pro bono clients. Learn more about Kirkland’s commitment to pro bono and corporate social responsibility at www.kirkland.com/CSR.
L4GG Releases New Report on Corporal Punishment in Public Schools
Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) has released a new report “Cruel Schools: The Nineteen States that Still Allow Corporal Punishment in Schools and the Resulting Harms to Children of Color and Students with Disabilities,” highlighting the racist roots of corporal punishment and how Black and Brown children are the primary recipients of punishment.
State-sanctioned violence as a means to control Black and Brown communities is deeply rooted in U.S. history. From the terrors of slavery and public lynchings to the disparate impacts that capital punishment, the drug war, police violence, and mass incarceration, government policies continue to legally authorize the systematic oppression of people of color. This legacy continues in the use of corporal punishment, which is disproportionately used against Black and other marginalized children.
The shocking new report illustrates that there are 19 states that still allow corporal punishment in public schools, with some targeting preschool aged children. The report goes on to document the way children of color are disproportionately targeted in incidents of corporal punishment.
At the national level, findings include:
Black children make up 15.1% of public school students, but 37.3% of corporal punishment incidents;
Children with disabilities make up 13.2% of public school students, but 16.5% of corporal punishment incidents;
Native American children make up 1.0% of public school students, but 1.9% of corporal punishment incidents.
Each state that uses corporal punishment in public schools disproportionately uses corporal punishment against at least one marginalized community.
Read or download the report below.
Judge Brown Jackson’s Historic SCOTUS Nomination
Lawyers for Good Government Celebrates Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Nomination
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a historic moment, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s final nomination vote passed the Senate, 53-47, making Justice Brown Jackson the first Black woman to be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
This historic nomination included bipartisan support, as notable Republican Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted for Justice Brown Jackson. Justice Brown Jackson’s nomination is pivotal in cultivating a democracy that works for all of us, regardless of our background. As a Black woman Supreme Court justice with a commitment to equitable treatment in the courts for all, Justice Brown Jackson will have an impact for generations to come.
Justice Brown Jackson’s nomination moves our country forward and provides an opportunity to deliver on issues that Americans care about most.
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson devoted years of her career to public service, including representing people in D.C as a public defender,” says Mika Fernandez, Vice President of Policy and Strategic Engagement at Lawyers for Good Government. “We are proud to see her confirmed to be the first Black woman and the first public defender on our nation’s highest court. We need even more well-qualified jurists on our courts like Judge Jackson who have dedicated their legal careers to ensuring equal justice for all.”
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Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) coordinates large scale pro bono programs and issue advocacy efforts to protect human rights and ensure equal justice under the law, and has a network of 125,000+ lawyers to assist in its efforts.
L4GG, PROJECT CORAZON CONDEMN REPORTED DELAY IN LIFTING TITLE 42
Immigrants’ Rights Group Project Corazon Points to Harms to Asylum Seekers Between Now and May 23, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Many media outlets are now reporting that the Biden Administration plans to end its use of Title 42, a harmful and discriminatory policy of excluding asylum seekers from asking for asylum because of COVID19, by May 23, 2022.
Seeking asylum is a right under U.S. and international law. Title 42, initially invoked by the Trump Administration in 2020, designated hundreds of thousands of migrants for “expulsion” in lieu of providing them with the right to seek asylum, arguing that allowing these migrants to enter the U.S. may increase the spread of COVID-19. In the past two years, it is estimated that more than 1.5 million asylum seekers have been expelled under this policy.
Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), which provides free legal services to vulnerable migrants at the border through its Project Corazon initiative, supports the Administration decision to end the use of Title 42, but calls for an end to the use of Title 42 now. Two months more of this harmful and discriminatory policy will only mean two more months of already-vulnerable individuals being left in potentially deadly situations.
“Since its inception, the application of Title 42 to asylum seekers has been extremely cruel,” says Estuardo Cifuentes, Client Services Manager and Guatemalan asylum seeker with Project Corazon at Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG). “The expulsion of those seeking protection by sending them to places where they face persecution or torture violates laws and obligations under international treaties. Two years later Title 42 continues to cause harm, and now we are faced with two more months. I hope that its termination will be accompanied by policies that will allow a fair and humane process for the thousands of people who continue to suffer at the border.”
“While I’m relieved that Title 42 will be ending in May, I cried when I heard that it would remain in effect until May 23rd,” says Jessica Riley, Staff Attorney with Project Corazon at Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG). “We have clients in crisis right now seeking asylum at the border who are sick or who have already been kidnapped and tortured in Mexico. They need help right now, not on May 23rd. And at the end of the next two months, what damage will have been done to the lives of asylum seekers at the border? What the southern border needs is for Title 42 to end now and the implementation of an efficient and humane system that ensures due process and treats asylum seekers who have been in such terrible situations with dignity.”
“We are extremely disappointed in the delay for lifting Title 42,” says Traci Feit Love, Executive Director of Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG). “While we are glad the Biden Administration is taking steps to end this harmful and discriminatory policy, we remain deeply concerned for people whose lives are currently at stake and who will continue to suffer every single day between now and the May 23 repeal. As the Biden Administration considers how to welcome asylum seekers at the border in a humane and dignified way, we also urge them to work directly with frontline organizations and asylum seekers who have invaluable feedback and experiences to share.”
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Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) coordinates large scale pro bono programs and issue advocacy efforts to protect human rights and ensure equal justice under the law, and has a network of 125,000+ lawyers to assist in its efforts.
L4GG Applauds TPS Designation for Afghanistan
Rapid Response Advocacy Organization Lawyers for Good Government Supports TPS for Afghan Refugees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has designated Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, securing critical protections for over 76,000 Afghan nationals currently living in the U.S.
Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) supports Sec. Mayorkas’ decision to designate Afghanistan as eligible for TPS. In times of crisis, L4GG has mobilized its network of thousands of legal professionals, activists and supporters to provide legal aid to individuals in need, most recently through a pro bono remote legal clinic specifically for Afghan refugees, held this February. The clinic provided assistance to almost 100 Sacramento, California-based Afghan refugees, helping them with asylum and adjustment of status applications.
The 18-month TPS designation provides the right for Afghan nationals to live and work in the United States for a temporary period. Many of the Afghans risked their lives by working with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and were evacuated with their families to the U.S. after the Afghan government fell last August.
Mika Fernandez, L4GG’s Vice President of Policy and Strategic Engagement said:
“We are thrilled that Afghan families now have access to critical protections to live and work in the U.S. through Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Many of these families risked their lives to help the U.S. in Afghanistan, and would be in particular danger if they returned to their home country. As an organization that has consistently been on the frontlines of support for immigrants and refugees, L4GG applauds Sec. Mayorkas’ decision, and believes that all families seeking safety should have the ability to find stability and pursue the next chapter in their lives.”
L4GG is also currently building out a national pro bono clinic to help Ukrainian nationals apply for and secure TPS, in light of the recent designation of Ukraine for TPS on March 3, 2022. For more information, click here.
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Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) coordinates large scale pro bono programs and issue advocacy efforts to protect human rights and ensure equal justice under the law, and has a network of 125,000+ lawyers to assist in its efforts.