Happy National Volunteer Week! This week recognizes the impact of volunteer service and the power of volunteers to tackle society’s greatest challenges. While we celebrate volunteers like you all year, we wanted to take this opportunity to share some of the ways lawyers like you have recently made a difference:
Four Ways Lawyers Like You Are Making a Difference (and Still Can!)
1. Strengthening Democracy (With a Nobel Peace Prize Nominee!)
A strong democracy requires everyone having the ability to participate and have their voice heard at every level of government. That’s why in 2020, We The Action launched a partnership with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to help people with previous felony convictions — also known as returning citizens — restore their right to vote. Since then, 500 WTA volunteers from 26 states have researched over 15,000 cases for Floridians to help them navigate the labyrinth of red tape and fees to regain their voting rights. If you want to get involved in this effort, FRRC — who has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize! — has a project for lawyers who are barred in Florida and another project for lawyers not barred in Florida.
Nearly 300 We The Action lawyers have also donated more than 1,000 hours to help the Democracy Capacity Project develop state resource guides supporting grassroots organizations working on democracy-enhancing civic engagement and civil rights projects. They’re currently recruiting lawyers barred in any state for two new projects: one to help organizations understand laws surrounding absentee ballots, and one to help organizations understand ballot measures.
2. Advocating for Racial Justice
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 wherever they exist. For instance, Jeff Nesvet, a retired lawyer and We The Action volunteer with 50 years experience, helped a DC-based nonprofit successfully challenge the “Clean Hands Law,” a DC 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. Jeff was also featured in Law360 discussing his work to help overturn the Clean Hands Law.
3. Fighting for Reproductive Rights & Gender Equity
In Congress and in statehouses across the country, reproductive freedom is under attack and lawyers play a critical role in the fight to defend the fundamental right of reproductive choice. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s devastating ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, 160 We The Action volunteers are still fighting alongside four key partners to protect reproductive rights. Last year, we highlighted Rachel Spitz, a volunteer lawyer who “had a direct impact on an abortion provider’s ability to stay open and continue providing abortion care in Georgia,” according to Regulatory Assistance for Abortion Providers, the organization who sponsored the project.
4. Supporting Immigrant Communities
The American immigration system is a labyrinth of red tape that is nearly impossible to navigate for our immigrant neighbors living in fear of deportation — or worse. That’s why 82 We The Action lawyers have already signed up this year to provide immigration legal services by representing unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children, translating legal documents so survivors of human trafficking can apply for immigration benefits, conducting research to support immigration cases for Afghan refugees, and more.
Browse the 30 immigration projects currently looking for lawyers!
Need Some Inspiration? Read About Some Amicus Mundi Award Winners from the Past Year!
From all of us at We The Action, happy National Volunteer Week and thank you for your commitment to volunteerism.