About
Our Mission
The Jewish community is facing a campaign of unlawful antisemitic discrimination that is well-funded and well-organized. While many organizations are working on a variety of fronts to stem the tide of Jew-hate, there is no formal coordination that is ensuring these efforts are not duplicated, best practices are proliferated, and resources are allocated strategically with privileges properly protected.
To address this glaring need, the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) is announcing the Institute for Litigation Coordination (ILC), a project launched in coordination with Americans for a Strong Israel, the Coalition for Jewish Values, the Deborah Project Israeli American Council, the International Legal Forum, JewBelong, the Lawfare Project, SAFECampus, Shield Communications, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, StandWithUs, StopAntisemitism, Touro University, the World Jewish Congress, Zachor Legal, and the Zionist Organization of America, among many other major Jewish organizations.
The ILC is designed to provide coordination and support for the legal work being done to protect the civil rights of Jewish people in America. The Institute is advised by senior lawyers, academics, and politicians who form the advisory board. It has two primary goals:
- Coordinate litigation and legislative efforts to protect and promote the civil rights of Jewish people, including:
- Ensuring that all the relevant players are informed of each other’s
- Coordinating with relevant local, state, and federal officials
- Support advocacy efforts, including:
- Providing research assistance, pro bono and/or local counsel assistance to organizations that need help with their current caseloads
- Providing a contact point for organizations to send the cases they cannot manage, ensuring that none fall through the cracks
Rather than reinventing the wheel, the Institute will invest in and support the organizations and firms already working in this space, making sure that they have the resources they need to operate efficiently. The Institute will also work in conjunction with the NJAC Legal Fellows Program.
The NJAC Legal Fellows Program was developed to give rapid access to high quality legal resources. Many NJAC Legal Fellows are young lawyers employed at participating firms who recognize the value of the experience their associates will gain while working on NJAC cases. During the Fellowship, an associate works for NJAC while remaining an employee of their firm, retaining full salary and benefits, with their hours credited to the firm’s pro bono work. In other situations, a firm may opt for a rotation model, lending an associate full-time for weeks or months. Other NJAC Legal Fellows are more experienced or even retired attorneys that are seeking to support the Jewish community and by applying their expertise in the precedent setting legal work NJAC and its partner organizations are doing.
Organizations needing legal resources from the Institute will have access to any of the Fellows available. NJAC is in the process of scaling up the Fellows program to meet anticipated demand. Sourcing legal talent through the Institute via NJAC Fellows will save participating organizations time and resources. More importantly, the process will help avoid conflicts of interest with major firms, and enhance coordination, efficiency, and expediency.
Contact us for legal help.
If you have been affected by Antisemitism and are looking for legal help, contact the Institute for Litigation Coordination today so we can connect you with a trusted legal advisor.