Just over a year ago, in April 2018, student organizers committed to challenging barriers to justice for workers and consumers came together to form the Pipeline Parity Project. In our first year, we led campaigns to end the use of forced arbitration by law firms, mobilized students to oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation (forcing him to withdraw from teaching at Harvard Law School), and worked with partners to pressure the judiciary to combat widespread harassment of clerks and other judicial employees. We joined coalitions, led public education campaigns, placed op-eds, wrote public comments, attended Congressional hearings, lobbied state legislatures, and more, all to end discrimination and fight coercive contracting.

As our work has grown, so have our goals. In order to achieve our ultimate goal of demystifying—and dismantling—coercive legal tools that allow the powerful to get away with violating workers’ rights, ripping off consumers, and shielding corporations from accountability, we need to grow. That’s why we are so excited to announce the launch of the

People’s Parity Project.

The People’s Parity Project is a national non-profit organizing law students across the country to engage in legislative advocacy, public education campaigns, and grassroots student mobilization to support equal access to justice.  Through the generous support of progressive allies, we will be bringing paid organizers onboard and providing funding to launch affiliate chapters from coast-to-coast. Together, these organizers and chapters will create a network of law students committed to creating a legal system that works for all.

For those who have been with us since the beginning, you’ll notice that we’ve changed our name!  The People’s Parity Project was chosen as a way to reflect the scope of our work. We are committed to fighting on behalf of workers, women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and all who are systematically marginalized within the legal profession and by the law itself.  Although only one word has changed, we hope our new name captures more fully the spirit of what we are doing and how we are doing it. So from now on, you can find us at @PeoplesParity, with more changes to come.

We’ll have more updates on hiring and starting affiliates soon, so please stay tuned—and if you know law students we should be talking to, please send them our way!

In solidarity,
Emma Janger, Molly Coleman, Sejal Singh, & Vail Kohnert-Yount
Directors, People’s Parity Project

Photo credit: Alyx Darensbourg