Lawyering for Liberation: A Toolbox for Movement Lawyers - Hardcover

by Ameca Reali (Editor), Marbré Stahly-Butts (Editor)

This fiery manifesto provides a concrete action plan for legal professionals and activists advancing Black liberation and transformative social change.

Revolutions happen in the streets, not in courtrooms. But in the struggle against systems increasingly designed to perpetuate inequality and benefit those in power, lawyers must do their part. As leaders from the acclaimed movement lawyering and advocacy organization Law for Black Lives, editors Marbré Stahly-Butts and Ameca Reali have spent years on the front lines of transformative social change. With Lawyering for Liberation, they offer concrete tools for fellow legal workers and lawyers working to achieve a just future.

Grounded in the politics of abolition, Black queer feminism, and anticapitalism, this approachable how-to guide distills key concepts of movement lawyering and assembles advice from dozens of lawyers, legal workers, and organizers in areas like jail and bail support, stop-and-frisk litigation, protester defense, reparations, family law, housing, and more. The result is not just a manual for resistance but an urgent call to join the movement.

Back Jacket

"As panicked liberals scramble to defend the Constitution from ascendant fascism, Lawyering for Liberation goes on the offense, offering an invaluable guide for building power and making change. Reflecting the collective wisdom of some of the most talented and fearless movement lawyers of any generation, this book demonstrates that the revolution will not be litigated and that real justice means remaking the world."--Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination

"It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of a better world: How do we get there? What can one person do? What is the best path forward? For people asking these questions, this book is an immeasurable gift, providing both the big-picture framework and laying out clear, tangible steps you can take. It's the book every lawyer, organizer, and changemaker needs to help improve their community, city, country, and the world."--Josie Duffy Rice, writer and political commentator

"This is an indispensable guide for lawyers who want to support movements' boldest visions for a better world. It offers guiding principles, from a wise chorus of voices, to help us move with more creativity, self-reflection, and care."--Amanda Alexander, founder and former Executive Director of the Detroit Justice Center

Author Biography

Ameca Reali is Executive Director of the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center and former Membership Director at Law for Black Lives.

Marbré Stahly-Butts is Associate Professor at CUNY School of Law and cofounder and former Executive Director of Law for Black Lives.