Police, ICE, and other arms of the State are escalating their attack on marginalized communities and criminalization of dissent. This is violent, oppressive, and must be stopped by any means necessary.
In addition, “movement lawyering” has failed to disrupt status quo litigation tactics and the disparities in access, skills, and power between lawyers and the communities they represent. People in the frontlines have the solutions, but legal organizations continue centering lawyers over organizers and community members.
The Problem
Making matters worse, anti-repression organizing and legal support is hard to come by across the South. Everyday people should be empowered to navigate white supremacist legal systems with fighters on their side, but this support is hard to find.
PLC FILLS THE GAP THROUGH STRATEGIC ORGANIZING & REPRESENTATION
In response to this reality, PLC is building a network of pro bono organizers and attorneys who are not just movement aligned, but movement grown. We actively address the organizing and representation gap in the South through our work.
Crucially, our collective acts as organizers first and lawyers second. This allows us to leverage novel and aggressive litigation strategies that win.
Our core efforts involve actively training people to defend from and respond to State repression. Through political education and coordination, we empower our communities to protect themselves.
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We utilize a two-prong approach to fight back against State repression:
(1) Organizing Work: Advocacy, political education, and movement-building on the ground.
(2) Legal Work: Aggressive, creative, and political representation through a participatory, community-driven model.
Our two-prong strategy ensures that we work at all points of intervention, centering the voices of those directly impacted and their loved ones.
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Our organizers and lawyers center the communities facing the brunt of State repression. PLC clients are not just a part of a team: they are co-counsel in their lives and futures.