A NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDER
The first few months of 2023 have brought unique challenges for the L4GG staff and our community of supporters. State legislatures across the country have brought escalating attacks against our civil rights, particularly on the right to bodily autonomy through state bans on gender-affirming care, birth control, contraception, and more. To combat this, we’re working with on-the-ground partners to defend against future state-level attacks and develop proactive, protective policy approaches driven by leaders from the affected communities and supported by L4GG’s unparalleled attorney network. We also launched our 2023 State Legislative Advocacy Academy Leadership Cohort, a group of 20 lawyers and law students from 15 states, each of whom graduated from L4GG’s State Legislative Advocacy Academy and is engaging in legislative advocacy in their home state.
Additionally, 1000+ volunteers in our Reproductive Health Legal Assistance Project have continued to maintain a database on state-specific abortion care laws for healthcare providers. We also launched the bi-weekly Reproductive Health Digest which provides subscribers with significant updates to state abortion laws, legal analysis, and pertinent calls to action.
Project Corazon has diligently battled new threats to human rights at our Southern border as we prepare for an end to Title 42 and a potential surge in legal needs. And, our new Climate Funding Clinic is providing free, direct legal assistance to overburdened communities to help them secure funding for clean energy and climate resilience projects from recent federal infrastructure investments.
While 2023 has just begun, our commitment to advocating for systemic change, amplifying marginalized voices, and holding those in power accountable remains unwavering. I hope this newsletter inspires you to get involved with L4GG and join us on this journey.
Mobilizing State Changemakers
In 2022, we launched the State Legislative Advocacy Academy (SLAA), a first-of-its-kind training program geared towards lawyers and law students to learn how to use their unique skills and privilege to influence public policy in their home states. Since then, we’ve had almost 300 lawyers join the SLAA and participate in our ten expert training modules. This January, 40 lawyers and law students from across the nation successfully graduated from the Academy and received Certificates of Achievement.
In early 2023, we selected 20 of these changemakers to participate in our 2023 SLAA Leadership Program. These state-level leaders are receiving high-quality training and education, coaching from L4GG staff and partner organizations across the country, early access to L4GG’s latest policy reports, and additional resources to help them engage in progressive policy change efforts and mobilize other lawyers to do the same.
It’s not too late to join the SLAA! Our SLAA training webinars are all available online, and participants who watch all the modules will receive Certificates of Achievement. Learn more at L4GG.org/SLAAINFO.
Navigating Abortion Care Post-Dobbs
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has brought cataclysmic changes to the landscape of reproductive health care in our nation, and has set a dangerous precedent for civil rights attacks on bodily autonomy. Last year, we launched our Reproductive Health Legal Assistance Project, through which 50 L4GG Pro Bono Partner firms and corporate legal departments are providing clear, up-to-date legal guidance to healthcare providers in 56 states and territories. Now, we are thrilled to launch the Reproductive Health Digest, a bi-weekly newsletter that updates subscribers on the status of abortion care laws throughout the country. The newsletter includes an in-depth legal analysis from our Reproductive Justice Staff Attorney, Alyssa Morrison, on the impact of major changes, as well as opportunities to take action for reproductive rights.
There’s much to accomplish in the fight for reproductive health and bodily autonomy. Until then, we are committed to ensuring that no patient entitled to abortion care is denied that care because their reproductive health care provider lacked accurate legal information. Learn more at L4GG.org/ReproHealth.
Securing Local Climate Resilience Funding
Last year, the federal government authorized a historic $2 trillion investment in green energy and infrastructure through recent climate and infrastructure bills. However, communities most in need of this funding lack the necessary resources to navigate securing funding and implementing necessary climate projects.
That’s why we’ve launched the Climate Funding Clinic (renamed to the Green and Equitable Communities Clinic in 2024), which provides free, tailored legal assistance to disadvantaged communities to help them secure funding for and implement clean energy and climate resilience projects from these federal infrastructure investments. We have just wrapped up our first round of applications, where we received four times as many applicants as we could accept.
We are now working with five communities to realize their environmental goals such as building microgrids, EV infrastructure, and community solar. Learn more about our efforts to ensure “good government” in forthcoming federal infrastructure spending at L4GG.org/Clinic.
Tackling Escalating Human Rights Abuses at the Border
In January 2023, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) began requiring asylum seekers to apply for an appointment via an app called CBP One before they reach a port of entry. This technology had countless issues, including extremely limited appointment slots, the exclusion of LGBTQ+ and other vulnerable asylum seekers, family separation, and more. L4GG sprang into action, working with other organizations on the ground, advocates on the Hill, and others to advocate for improvements to the app.
Unfortunately, since January, a number of additional anti-immigrant policies have followed as the Biden Administration prepares for the end to Title 42 on May 11. They’ve proposed reinstating family detention, an asylum ban, and, most recently, conducting credible fear interviews on an expedited basis that would violate due process rights.
We’ve been working tirelessly to advocate against these xenophobic policies, working directly with our contacts in the Administration and training lawyers and law students to lend their voice to the fight as well.
Project Corazon needs your support more than ever. Please consider a gift to fuel these efforts at L4GG.org/GivePC.
Photo of a family that was separated due to changes in asylum policy. The father went across to pursue asylum; the mother and children remained in Mexico.
Invest In Human Rights And Equal Justice
Support our critical work on immigrants’ rights, climate change, racial justice, and other emergent legal issues. We count on your donations, large or small, one-time or monthly. L4GG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
