mission & vision
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what we believe
We believe in the law as a tool for social change, not entrenching social privilege. We’re committed to intersectional justice across race, gender, disability, and all our identities and commitments.
Any definition of justice worth having has to include LGBTQ+ equity and racial justice; reproductive autonomy and disability rights; indigenous rights and respect for our immigrant neighbors; anti-facism and anti-capitalism.
These are our values.
“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
—Frannie Lou Hamer
community commitment
We know advocacy doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Change in courtrooms almost always follows change in our communities. That’s why we’re committed to supporting organizations working to advance justice and equity, including:
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Serving as the first openly trans and non-binary president of the Hennepin County Bar Association, the largest local bar association in Minnesota.
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Volunteering as a nonprofit board member for organizations devoted to queer, gender, and racial equity.
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Serving 7 years on the board of the Minnesota Bar Association, our state’s largest, professional legal association.
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Leading efforts to change court rules to improve gender equity, mental health, and trans+ safety.
Advocacy with Heart
We’re committed to using the law, too often an instrument for oppression, as a tool in service of equity and care. Our mission-based work has included:
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Freeing over two-dozen unlawfully abducted immigrants during the federal occupation of the Twin Cities, “Operation Metro Surge”
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Helping dozens of transgender applicants protect the privacy of their name-change and gender-marker correction records and petitioning the Minnesota Supreme Court to limit access to all gender-affirming name changes
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Defending threats to the Indian Child Welfare Act and Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act against constitutional attacks at Minnesota’s Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
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Advocating for the rights of parents living through poverty or with a disability in guardianship, custody, and adoption appeals.
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Litigating for parents whose children have been abducted both within the United States and internationally.
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Educating the courts as amicus counsel for the Indian Child Welfare Act Law Center, the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Violence Free Minnesota, Black & Pink Minneapolis, OutFront Minnesota, and more.
