In just four years, nearly 41,000 volunteer lawyers have donated $102 million in free legal services through We The Action.
Today, We The Action, a community of nearly 41,000 volunteer lawyers and more than 400 nonprofits working together on the most pressing issues facing the nation, celebrates its fourth anniversary.
Over the last four years, We The Action’s community of volunteer lawyers and nonprofit partners has defended democracy, advanced racial justice, kept immigrant families together, helped vulnerable communities weather COVID-19, protected tenants facing evictions, and much more.
“Lawyers have unique training they can use to protect the most vulnerable among us, fight for justice, and defend our institutions and values,” said Sarah Baker, President & Executive Director of We The Action. “In launching We The Action, we sought to channel that expertise toward the greatest need. In the four years since, We The Action lawyers have donated more than $102 million in free legal services: reuniting fathers and sons separated at the border, protecting thousands of Americans at the polls, getting desperately needed PPE to frontline workers, and so much more.”
Since 2017, We The Action has built an expansive network of lawyers ready to answer the call whenever — and wherever — they’re needed:
Nearly 41,000 volunteer lawyers have joined We The Action. That includes lawyers from all 50 states — plus DC, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and Guam.
We The Action volunteer lawyers have donated nearly 250,000 hours of free legal services worth more than $102 million. That includes 170,000 hours donated by lawyers in 2020 to defend democracy and ensure the election was safe, secure, and accessible for everyone.
We The Action has partnered with more than 424 nonprofits to provide them the free legal support they need to make a difference in communities nationwide. Ranging from nationally-recognized organizations to volunteer-driven local nonprofits, our partners work on virtually every major issue facing the nation.
"At every step of our organization's growth, We The Action has been by our side providing free legal support to help us advocate for survivors of domestic violence," says Amy Durrence, Director of Systems Change Initiatives at FreeFrom, a partner of We The Action. "From helping us launch our Compensation Compass to give survivors of domestic violence access to the compensation they're owed, to launching a first-of-its-kind toolkit to ensure survivors have a seat at the table during the policymaking process, We The Action has saved us valuable time and resources over the past few years and allowed our team to focus on making the biggest impact possible."
In 2020 — as calls for racial justice intensified, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the world, and the 2020 election increased the urgency of voter protection efforts — We The Action had its busiest year yet, increasing its volunteer rate by 1,300 percent:
13,000 We The Action lawyers supported nearly 200,000 voters in 10 languages through the national nonpartisan voter hotline, ensuring every voter’s voice was heard at the polls.
We The Action lawyers helped organizations distribute 6 million units of personal protective equipment (PPE) and protect the safety and rights of service workers.
900 We The Action lawyers volunteered to defend protestors, advocate for policing and prison reform, and advance equity through our Racial Justice Task Force.
“I first joined We The Action because I wanted to get off the sidelines and find a way to use my skills as a lawyer to help people,” said Joel Aurora, a lawyer from California who has been volunteering with We The Action since 2018. “Since then, I’ve watched this community of lawyers grow into the go-to resource for lawyers and nonprofits fighting for progress. Lawyers have the power to do good and in the last four years, We The Action has proven that.”
In the coming year, We The Action will continue to support vulnerable communities and respond to the nation’s most important needs, focusing on five core areas: protecting voting rights and defending democracy, fighting for racial justice, defending immigrant communities, helping communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and helping tenants facing eviction stay in their homes.