Thanks to support from L4GG’s community, 2022 has been our most impactful year to date. We successfully launched 3 new rapid response programs, trained hundreds of lawyers in state-level legislative advocacy, and expanded our existing work to advance racial justice, immigrant rights, and climate equity.
In 2022, your generosity is what allowed us to:
Ensure Patients Get Abortion Care They Are Legally Entitled To
Immediately following the Dobbs decision, L4GG was approached by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a membership organization of more than 68,000 OB-GYNs, with a need for immediate answers to various legal questions and how they intersect with medical practices.
To help address this need, we spearheaded our Reproductive Health Legal Assistance Project, a large-scale project that provides clear, up-to-date legal guidance to healthcare providers in states and territories across the country. We coordinated the program’s launch with several frontline reproductive health organizations, who confirmed that no other organizations are providing this necessary legal guidance to medical providers.
This year, we’ve trained and mobilized over 500 volunteers who are conducting legal research in all 56 U.S. states and territories. In 2023, we will continue helping reproductive healthcare clinicians understand the complex and ever-changing laws that interfere with their ability to provide essential healthcare to their patients. We have also hired a reproductive justice staff attorney that will be joining us in the new year to lead the project.
No patient who is legally entitled to abortion care should be denied that care because their reproductive health care provider lacked accurate legal information. Support reproductive justice today!
Defend Migrants’ Rights at the Southern Border & Throughout the U.S.
This year, our Project Corazon team responded to the growing humanitarian crisis at the southern border that is going unnoticed by many Americans. In Reynosa, over 6,000 migrants are living in camping tents on the streets without access to running water and protection from dangerous cartel activity. Most are Haitian migrants who are barred from seeking asylum in the U.S. due to Title 42, a policy designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 that effectively closes the southern border. For many, humanitarian parole is the only option at securing safety in the U.S., and it’s virtually impossible to obtain without legal assistance.
Our team helped over 1300 asylum seekers secure life-saving parole, many of whom were vulnerable LGBTQ+ individuals, those with medical conditions, third-language speakers, and pregnant women.
In addition to our work at the southern border, we also spearheaded two Project Corazon rapid response programs this year: the Afghan Refugee Remote Legal Clinic and TPS Pro Bono Project for Ukraine. We assisted nearly 100 Afghan refugees with their asylum and adjustment of status applications, and over 200 Ukrainian nationals with their temporary protected status and work authorization applications.
In 2023, we will continue to provide life-saving legal assistance to communities that need it the most. To learn more about Project Corazon and support immigrants’ rights, click here.
Train Lawyers to Fight State-Level Attacks on our Civil Rights
In 2022, some of our most fundamental liberties have been under attack. Between abortion bans, limits on healthcare for transgender people, and restrictions on how to vote, it’s clear that state laws nationwide are infringing on civil and human rights. In response, we decided to mobilize our community of lawyers and utilize our collective power in the face of these state-level political battles.
We launched our State Legislative Advocacy Academy (SLAA), a first-of-its-kind training program for lawyers and law students on how to conduct state-level legislative advocacy. L4GG’s first Director of Attorney Impact & Engagement, LaTonya Joyner-Gregory, was hired to lead the program, which has been running since August. Since then, we’ve had 293 lawyers join the SLAA and access our 10 expert training modules.
In January 2023, those who have completed the program will join us for a graduation ceremony, and we will be launching our 2023 Leadership Cohort, a select group of advocates that we’ll support during the 2023 state legislative session to enact state-level progressive policy goals.
Now more than ever, we need lawyers to band together and make a difference in these state-level policy fights. To support our legislative advocacy efforts, click here.
Help Disadvantaged Communities Secure Federal Climate Funding
To enhance the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Biden’s Infrastructure Law (BIL), Biden’s J40 Initiative (J40), and other federal investments in climate resilience, L4GG’s Climate Change Program launched the Decarbonization and Climate Resiliency Funding Clinic (the Clinic).
Since the launch of the Clinic, and with support from expert attorneys, L4GG has produced 6 webinars on funding eligibility, application processes, timelines, acceptable projects and more under the new federal legislation. These webinars were attended by representatives from over 600 municipalities across 25 states, and were conducted in partnership with WRI, Evergreen Action, Climate XChange and the Center for American Progress. Additionally, L4GG published the groundbreaking Disadvantaged Communities Report (DAC Report), which 1) provides the legal definition of DAC in every state, 2) provides existing state climate equity policies and 3) includes the name and contact information of relevant state decision-makers to help facilitate J40 implementation. Since its release, the DAC Report has been used by dozens of communities and nonprofit advocates to develop model policies, make recommendations for equity funding, and more.
In addition to launching the Clinic, L4GG’s Climate experts worked with attorneys and sustainability directors from Atlanta, Emory University, Fulton County, and Agnes Scott College to facilitate a joint Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) in Georgia. This was a major accomplishment as 1 VPPA can reduce CO2 emissions by 55,986+ metric tons annually (equivalent to removing ~12,176 gas vehicles from the road).
Within the coming months, L4GG is looking to expand the Clinic to provide direct legal and technical assistance to DACs looking to obtain federal funding for green infrastructure and other climate resilience projects. To support our climate justice work, click here.
Research and Analyze Intersectional Civil Rights Issues
As part of our Lawyers for Racial Justice (LRJ) initiative, we continued to mobilize lawyers to fight systemic racism by identifying, analyzing, and supporting the reform of policies that perpetuate racial disparities. With support from over 40 law firms, and coalition partners like New Georgia Project and The Trans Formations Project, we published reports and policy recommendations on the following issues: the criminalization of ballot selfies, the role of police in schools, proposed state policies for implementing federal climate funding, gender-affirming healthcare, election day state holidays, and the racist roots of corporal punishment in schools. Moreover, we completed extensive research and analysis on several other racial justice issues, such as automatic expungement fees and juvenile solitary confinement, for which we will issue additional reports in the coming year.
Looking forward to 2023, we plan to expand our LRJ activities in a couple ways. First, in conjunction with the State Legislative Advocacy Academy, we plan to mobilize attorneys to fight for the reform of policies that are producing instances of racial disparity. In doing so, we will increase the likelihood of policy reform on these issues. Second, in partnership with Alliance for Safety and Justice, we are building a multi-state program that will provide limited-scope legal services to individuals looking to expunge their criminal records. To support our LRJ initiative, click here.
Invest In Human Rights And Equal Justice
In 2023, and with your support, we will continue to build on our incredible impact by addressing these pressing justice issues. Join us by supporting human rights and equal justice.
