Progressive law firm founded to 'reverse assaults on democracy'

Law Forward, a nonprofit, progressive law firm, announced its launch on Thursday to “defend Wisconsin from ongoing attacks on the state’s progressive traditions.”

“Wisconsin’s ruthless legislative leadership has undertaken a systematic effort to undercut democratic norms and to disenfranchise voters,” Madison attorney Jeffrey Mandell, the group’s founder, president and lead counsel, said in a statement. “Rather than legislating to address the needs of Wisconsin families, they have repeatedly used the courts as a tool to entrench their own power. The people deserve to have an advocate in these fights.”

That advocate, say Mandell and his partner Douglas Poland, the firm’s litigation director, will be Law Forward.

The organization’s legal advisory council is co-chaired by former Sen. Russ Feingold and former Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton. So far, the firm has hired one full-time attorney, Mel Barnes, former legal and policy director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. There is no physical office yet, and staff are working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more: https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2020/10/22/progressive-law-firm-founded-to-reverse-assaults-on-democracy/