National nonprofit, founded in 2017, that partners with state, local and tribal governments to provide litigation support, legal representation and training in civil rights cases.
Public Rights Project is a national nonprofit, founded in 2017, that works with state, local, and tribal governments on civil rights matters. It provides litigation support, direct legal representation, and training so that government officials can take on powerful actors on behalf of the communities they serve. The organisation operates remotely, with a team distributed throughout the United States, and partners with governments in all 50 states.
Its work falls into three areas. Litigation support assists public-sector lawyers in civil rights cases; the organisation reports more than $46m recovered in relief for marginalised communities. Legal representation covers cases with nationwide reach, affecting millions of people. Training and capacity building has put 130 prosecutors and government lawyers through programmes across 24 states, alongside convening government leaders. In total, the organisation reports partnerships with over 1,300 government entities.
The stated approach rests on the view that local governments know their communities best, and that public power can be directed towards historically underserved groups, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and pregnant people, and workers. Public Rights Project is a mission-driven organisation focused on civil rights and the government and legal-services sectors; further information is available at publicrightsproject.org.
