The tech and innovation magazine named We The Action a finalist in the Software category and Honorable Mention in the Social Justice category of their 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards.
Washington, D.C. — Today, legal nonprofit We The Action was named a “World Changing Idea” by leading technology and innovation magazine Fast Company. As part of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Award, We The Action was named an award finalist in the Software category and honorable mention in the Social Justice category.
Using its state-of-the-art digital platform, WeTheAction.org, We The Action recruits and mobilizes lawyers from across the country to use their legal expertise to strengthen democracy, support immigrant communities, advance gender equity and racial justice, and more. To date, We The Action’s community of 45,000+ volunteer lawyers from all 50 states has donated 275,000+ hours in legal services worth more than $115 million to 550+ nonprofit organizations nationwide.
“At We The Action, we leverage technology to channel the passion of lawyers to build a more just and equitable nation,” says Anna Chu, Executive Director of We The Action. “Since our launch, our lawyers have been on the front lines of the most pressing issues facing the country, donating their time and expertise to be agents of change and fight for the causes they believe in — but we’re not slowing down. Whether we’re protecting the vote in the 2024 elections, helping reunite immigrant families separated at the border, or defending reproductive freedom, our community of volunteer lawyers are ready to ensure that everyone — regardless of their race, income, ZIP code, or any other factor — can have access to justice.”
Since its inception, We The Action has worked with Able, a product design studio dedicated to helping ambitious founders build technology. In 2022, when faced with numerous national crises, Able and We The Action worked to push the boundaries of innovation and enhance the platform's capabilities. Through this collaboration, they were able to facilitate faster and more impactful responses to urgent national issues, at an unprecedented scale, unlocking the power of network effect, and speed of mobilization.
“I’m tremendously proud of the work that we’ve done with We the Action over the last six years,” said Andy McKinney, CEO of Able. “All of us at Able are committed to building products that create impact, and this acknowledgment by FastCo is evidence of what we’ve accomplished together.”
For the last five years, We The Action has used its custom platform to recruit volunteer lawyers to strengthen democracy and advance access to justice, helping low-income people, communities of color, immigrant communities, and other traditionally marginalized groups to access the resources and support they need to seek justice for their grievances. For instance:
A strong democracy requires that everyone have the ability to make their voice heard at every level of government. That’s why 3,500 volunteer lawyers donated more than 45,000 hours to 36 organizations to make the 2022 midterm elections safe, secure, and accessible for every voter.
Reproductive freedom is under attack in Congress and statehouses nationwide, and lawyers play a critical role in defending this human right. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s devastating decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, 220 lawyers volunteered to help abortion providers expand or modify services, track abortion-related bills, serve as legal observers at protests, and more.
The American immigration system is nearly impossible to navigate for our immigrant neighbors who live in fear of deportation — or worse. That’s why We The Action partnered with a coalition led by the law firm Akin Gump to mobilize 150 lawyers who donated more than 3,000 hours to help nearly 3,000 migrants prepare for interviews with the government.
In 2022, 4.6 million people were denied the right to vote due to a previous felony conviction. Lawyers play a critical role in reenfranchising returning citizens and protecting voting rights. Since 2020, 500 We The Action volunteers have partnered with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition — a Nobel Prize nominee — to research over 15,000 cases for Floridians with previous felony convictions to help them navigate the labyrinth of red tape and fees to regain their voting rights.
Systemic racism permeates every level of the American legal system and We The Action lawyers are committed to breaking down barriers that disproportionately harm communities of color. For instance, one We The Action volunteer lawyer donated hundreds of hours to help a DC-based nonprofit successfully challenge the “Clean Hands Law,” an unfair fines and fees policy policy that exacerbates racial inequalities in a city where the median net worth of a white household is 81 times higher than the median net worth of a Black household.
Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards honors sustainable designs, innovative products, bold social initiatives, and other creative projects that are changing the way we work, live, and interact with the world. This year’s awards showcase 45 winners, 216 finalists, and more than 300 honorable mentions—with health, climate, energy, and AI among the most popular categories. A panel of Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 2,200 entries across urban design, education, nature, politics, technology, corporate social responsibility, and more. Several new categories were added this year including rapid response, crypto and blockchain, agriculture, and workplace. The 2023 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Italy to Singapore to New Zealand.