Movement Law Lab

Our shared fight for democracy is not just about the U.S. The authoritarianism trend is a global one, and techno-oligarchs are transcending national borders. But so, too, is the grassroot people’s movement to protect democracy, communities, and the earth. Learn more about how Movement Law Lab’s Global Network of Movement Lawyers brings together the advocates who act as bridges between grassroots movements and international legal campaigns.

Cloee Cooper speaks with three movement leaders—Alex Tom, Meena Jagannath from Movement Law Lab, and Vince Warren—about rising authoritarianism, successful resistance strategies, and the future of Left organizing. "We must build an infrastructure that can help people understand how different problems manifest at the local level, their global roots, and who the power holders are on the other side." -Meena Jagannath

Negotiations can be intimidating. That’s why we created this handy negotiations framework for lawyers and organizers just like you. Working legislative issues, building coalitions, or entering a high-stakes conversation with your opposition? This tool will help you feel confident.

Miguel Ruiz of Observatori DESCA offers a Deep-Dive into Spain’s Housing Crisis & the Lessons the U.S. Housing Justice Movement Can Learn - first published at LPE Blog https://buff.ly/4hdwXox as part of a written symposium on the global rise of authoritarianism ?? Here we highlight key points but encourage you to read the full article - there’s so much that housing advocates, social movements, and movement lawyers can learn from this analysis ?? Under slogans such as “Enough! Let’s put limits to tourism,” or “It’s over! Let’s lower the rents,” mass mobilizations have recently spread throughout Spain. Communities are rising up against overexploitation, real estate speculation, rising housing costs, and extreme touristification—demanding dignity and protection for housing as a human right. Since 2008, 2 million people have been evicted in Spain due to market-based causes, including the financialization of housing and policies favoring international vulture funds. The crisis has given rise to social movements like the Alliance against Energy Poverty (“Alianza contra la Pobreza Energética”), the Union of Tenants of Barcelona (“Sindicato de Inquilinas de Barcelona”), and the Assembly of Neighborhoods for Tourist Degrowth (“Asamblea de Barrios por el Decrecimiento Turístico”) as well as others who are pushing back. A popular legislative initiative to mandate social rents for at-risk families pushed by social movements and movement lawyers garnered 140,000 supporters and was approved in 2015. The policy was suspended by the Constitutional Court in 2016. Years of citizen pressure forced the state to withdraw its appeal by 2019, allowing the policy’s protections to resume—but only briefly. The Constitutional Court struck back in 2021 and again in 2022, declaring key provisions unconstitutional and impinging on the jurisdiction of the central government. Protections were stripped away, leaving thousands vulnerable and pressuring the central government to take responsibility. Despite these challenges, while the policy was in effect, it benefited over 20,000 families. It could have helped many more if courts and landlords hadn’t undermined it. Some landlords ignored the law entirely, facing over €6M in fines. When courts ruled that social rent obligations didn’t affect eviction processes, housing movements responded with innovative legal strategies. At-risk families began filing civil complaints against large property owners, flipping the script. This struggle illustrates a broader conflict: the right to property vs. the social function of housing. It’s a clash between systems designed to preserve the status quo and grassroots movements pushing for transformative change. Read the full article here:

The rise of authoritarianism is at the top of our minds. Last fall, we launched a series in partnership with Law and Political Economy Project digging into how neoliberalism fuels this threat and what movement lawyers can learn from our global allies working alongside social movements to combat it. The content is as relevant then as it is now. For the next four weeks we will be posting a thread from our “Movement Lawyering in Times of Rising Authoritarianism” symposium that dives deeper into each piece. Our Global Team–Meena Jagannath and Felipe Mesel–launched the series with a piece on how neoliberalism and authoritarianism are mutually reinforcing. Authoritarians propose top-down and repressive modes of governance as a false recipe to provide safety to people who are feeling isolated and at risk. With this, they consolidate the current neoliberal, racial-capitalist system and the power of the global oligarchs who benefit from it. Law plays a central role in this dynamic. Authoritarians manipulate the legal system, capture the judiciary and tamper with the electoral process to: a) exercise greater social control b) reestablish or consolidate colonial and hierarchical relations of exploitation and extraction, c) destroy or undermine existing protections for the environment and historically oppressed groups d) redefine the set of values and acceptable social discourses that dominate political life. These global trends are also surfacing in the US and will become more threatening in the coming period. The slide towards authoritarianism in the US is fueled by the same neoliberal forces driving it elsewhere around the world. Thus, we need to connect the dots between these global structures and our domestic struggles in order to overcome them. We lay the groundwork for the symposium here: https://buff.ly/43dMi3I Movement Lawyering in Times of Rising Authoritarianism is a call to action for lawyers who care about challenging the unjust use of law to perpetuate oppression. The legal world must work alongside social movements to challenge these power structures, defend and rebuild democratic institutions, and co-create a more just and equitable future. Stay tuned for more in this series!

Movement Law Lab is GROWING, and we’re calling on your help! We’re looking for a talented and visionary Director of Communications to join our team. This role is key to advancing our mission to organize lawyers, decolonize the law, and build social-movement power to win a just world. We’re looking for a creative, agile, and practical Communications Director with a strong understanding of the intersection of legal strategies and social movements. This role involves shaping and implementing Movement Law Lab’s communications strategy, growing our brand presence, directing digital outreach, and creating compelling content. If this all sounds like you, please apply! If you know someone who would be a great fit, please forward this post. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so applying sooner is better. Priority will be given to those received by Friday, March 14, 2025. https://buff.ly/4hYp7yw

Whether you’re working out a plea deal, shaping the terms of a consent decree, or negotiating with a landlord on behalf of a client, the real key to success isn’t just your counterpart’s position—it’s understanding what truly matters to them. That’s where the Interests Iceberg model comes in. It helps you distinguish between positions, justifications, and underlying interests, so you can focus on what actually drives the negotiation—not just what’s on the surface. Get the best outcome possible in your next negotiation. Start by shifting your focus to interests over positions. Download the Interests Iceberg tool today. #MovementLawyering #NegotiationSkills

Important piece from Political Research Associates on how building movement infrastructure during repressive times can bring us together and show how powerful we are as a collective to protect and to create change so needed now. Powerful voices from: - Movement Law Lab - Meena Jagannath - Center for Constitutional Rights - Vince Warren - Center for Empowered Politics - Alex Tom

When building organizing campaigns, we often focus on?mapping power?within particular state or local bounds in the United States — that is to say, our analysis of political decision-making, the interests at stake, flows of capital, the applicable law and forums for action rarely goes beyond the U.S. This is understandable, since those of us involved in organizing, policy advocacy, and electoral work in the U.S. witness the wealthy most visibly thwarting democracy by wielding their influence and resources to drive government decision-making at the local, state, and national levels. But to build enough power to effectively countervail the power of the wealthiest of these influence-peddlers - the?oligarchic class?- we must understand how power operates beyond the borders of the U.S. Learn more about how power operates on a global scale in this thought provoking piece by Movement Law Lab's very own Meena Jagannath. https://lnkd.in/etsTnmsZ

Important piece from Political Research Associates on how building movement infrastructure during repressive times can bring us together and show how powerful we are as a collective to protect and to create change so needed now. Powerful voices from: - Movement Law Lab - Meena Jagannath - Center for Constitutional Rights - Vince Warren - Center for Empowered Politics - Alex Tom