View source for Lambda Legal

{{short description|American LGBT civil rights organization}}
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{{Infobox organization
| name = Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
| image = Lambda Legal logo.svg
| size = 201px
| caption = 
| formation = {{start date and age|1973}}
| extinction = 
| type = [[Non-profit organization|NPO]]
| status = [[501(c)(3)]]
| purpose = [[LGBTI]] ([[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[bisexual]], [[transgender]] and [[intersex]]) [[civil rights]]
| headquarters = [[New York City]], [[United States]]
| location = 
| region_served = 
| membership = 
| leader_title = Chairman
| leader_name = John F. Stafstrom
| main_organ = 
| parent_organization = 
| affiliations = 
| num_staff = 
| num_volunteers = 
| budget = 
| website = {{URL|https://lambdalegal.org/|lambdalegal.org}}
| remarks = 
}}
The '''Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund''', better known as '''Lambda Legal''', is an American [[civil rights]] organization that focuses on [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[Bisexuality|bisexual]], and [[transgender]] ([[LGBTQ]]) communities as well as people living with [[HIV]]/[[AIDS]] ([[People With AIDS|PWA]]s) through [[impact litigation]], societal education, and [[public policy]] work.
{{LGBTQ sidebar|history}}

== History ==
Lambda's founder William J. Thom, Esq. submitted incorporation papers for approval to the New York Courts in 1971, but his application was denied on the grounds that its proposed activities would be "neither benevolent nor charitable in purpose" and "there was no demonstrated need for its existence".<ref>{{Cite web|title=In re Thom, 42 A.D.2d 353 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator|url=https://casetext.com/case/matter-of-thom-2|access-date=2020-06-13|website=casetext.com|archive-date=2022-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718112019/https://casetext.com/case/matter-of-thom-2|url-status=live}}</ref> That decision was overturned in 1973 by the [[New York Court of Appeals]], which is the highest court of [[New York State]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lambda Legal History|url=https://www.lambdalegal.org/about-us/history|access-date=2018-07-02|archive-date=2022-07-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717162031/https://www.lambdalegal.org/about-us/history|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1=Smyth|first1=Michael|title=Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund|date=2019|encyclopedia=Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History|volume=2|pages=891–893|editor-last=Chiang|editor-first=Howard|place=Farmington Hills, MI|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|language=English|last2=Sanderson|first2=Jordan|editor2-last=Arondekar|editor2-first=Anjali|editor3-last=Epprecht|editor3-first=Marc|editor4-last=Evans|editor4-first=Jennifer}}</ref> (''In re Thom'', 301 N.E.2d 542 (N.Y. 1973).)

The original incorporators, in addition to Bill Thom, were [[E. Carrington Boggan]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/01/obituaries/e-c-boggan-48-dies-handled-rights-cases.html | title=E. C. Boggan, 48, Dies; Handled Rights Cases | work=[[NY Times]] | date=February 1, 1992 | access-date=August 5, 2015 | archive-date=May 26, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526051853/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/01/obituaries/e-c-boggan-48-dies-handled-rights-cases.html | url-status=live }}</ref> and Michael J. Lavery. At their first meeting on November 10, 1973, they were elected to the newly constituted board of directors namely Rodney L. Eubanks, Shepherd Raimi, and D. Nicholas Russo.<ref name="minutes">[[Media:11-10-73 Minutes.pdf|"Minutes of the Combined Organizational Meeting and of the First Meeting of the Members and First Meeting of Directors", Lambda Legal, November 10, 1973]]</ref>

Because of the scarcity of openly gay lawyers in 1973, Lambda Legal formed a Board of Advisors of prominent New Yorkers sympathetic to the cause of [[gay rights]]. They included US Congressperson [[Bella Abzug]], New York State Senator [[Carol Bellamy]], Association of the Bar President Merrell E. Clark, Rev. John Corn of [[Trinity Church (Manhattan)|Trinity Church]] and [[Martin Duberman]], Distinguished Professor at [[City University of New York]].<ref name="minutes" /> Also on the Board of Advisors were the two lawyers who later became [[New York State Supreme Court]] Justices: [[Phyllis Gangel-Jacob]] and Shirley Fingerhood.

From its inception, Lambda Legal sought [[Diversity (politics)|diversity]] on its board of directors. Initially, it could find no lesbian lawyers who were willing or able to be openly associated with a gay activist organization. [[Nathalie Rockhill]], a major figure in the early post-[[Stonewall riots|Stonewall]] days of [[Gay Liberation]], was the first woman elected to the board in 1974. She was soon followed by lesbian law students and, in time, by lesbian lawyers. By the 1980s, men and women were equally represented on Lambda's board.<ref>Primary source – original board member, Shepherd Raimi, July 23, 2008</ref>

Lambda's growth paralleled the growth of the gay movement. By the 1980s, with the crisis of the [[AIDS]] epidemic getting more attention, awareness of gay activism had grown significantly. [[Thomas B. Stoddard]], who was executive director from 1986 to 1992, helped to author a bill passed in 1986 by the [[New York City Council]] to protect queer people against bias in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Mayor [[Ed Koch]], who signed the bill enacting it into law said: "The legislation drafted by Tom Stoddard was perfect." In 1993, Stoddard and other nationally known gay leaders met with President [[Bill Clinton]], first such delegation to meet inside the [[Oval Office]].<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E0DF143FF937A25751C0A961958260 Thomas Stoddard, 48, Dies; An Advocate of Gay Rights], [[New York Times]], February 14, 1997</ref>

In 2013, Lambda Legal – Midwest Regional Office was inducted into the [[Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glhalloffame.org/index.pl?page%3Dinductees%26todo%3Dyear |title=Inductees by Year  |access-date=2016-08-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017032241/http://www.glhalloffame.org/index.pl?page=inductees&todo=year |archive-date=2015-10-17 }}</ref>

Its national headquarters remained in [[New York City]], but today it has regional offices in [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], and [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lambdalegal.org/about-us/ |title=About Us |publisher=Lambda Legal |access-date=February 9, 2012 |archive-date=January 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129195423/http://www.lambdalegal.org/about-us/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Work ==
Lambda Legal has played a role in many legal cases pertaining to [[gay rights]], including the 6–3 [[United States Supreme Court]]'s 2003 decision in ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]'', which invalidated [[sodomy law]]s in the United States.

Lambda Legal also maintains a national network of volunteer Cooperating Attorneys, which widens the scope of their legal work and allows attorneys, legal workers and law students to become involved in the program by working with Lambda Legal's legal staff.<ref>{{cite news|last=Paquette|first=Monica|title=Marketplace|url=http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleFriendlyNY.jsp?id=1202514316420&slreturn=1|newspaper=New York Law Journal|date=September 14, 2011}}</ref>

Lambda Legal pursues litigation in all parts of the country, in every area of the law that affects communities they represent, such as discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and the military; HIV/AIDS-related discrimination and public policy issues; parenting and relationship issues; equal marriage rights; equal employment and domestic partnership benefits;<ref>{{cite news|last=Pinckard|first=Cliff|title=Gay-marriage ruling expected today in Iowa|url=http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/04/gaymarriage_ruling_expected_to.html|newspaper=The Plain Dealer|date=April 3, 2009|access-date=February 9, 2012|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061129/http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/04/gaymarriage_ruling_expected_to.html|url-status=live}}</ref> "sodomy" law challenges; immigration issues; anti-gay initiatives; and free speech and equal protection rights.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pearson|first1=Sophia|last2=Dolmetsch|first2=Chris|title=New Jersey's Civil Union Law Challenged by Rights Group|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-06-29/new-jersey-s-civil-union-law-challenged-by-rights-group.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702145103/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-06-29/new-jersey-s-civil-union-law-challenged-by-rights-group.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 2, 2011|newspaper=Bloomberg Businessweek|date=June 29, 2011}}</ref>
 	
Before taking on legal work on behalf of same-sex marriage rights, Lambda Legal had to resolve an internal debate over the significance of marriage for its constituency and the strategic wisdom of taking on the issue. In 1990, it declined to represent the plaintiffs in the [[Baehr v. Miike|initial challenge]] to Hawaii's denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. It filed an [[amicus brief]] in that case at a later stage and another in ''[[Same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia#Dean v. District of Columbia|Dean v. District of Columbia]]'', its first advocacy for same-sex marriage.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pinello|first=Daniel R.|title=America's Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521848565|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americasstruggle0000pine/page/24 24–6]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/americasstruggle0000pine/page/24}}</ref>

Lambda Legal publishes the "Little Black Book", which contains information regarding the possible consequences of gay men "cruising" for sex in public places.<ref name="lambdalegal.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.lambdalegal.org/news/ny_20040203_lambda-releases-little-black-book |title=Lambda Legal Releases 'Little Black Book,' Resource Against Police Harassment And Other Dangers Gay Men Encounter When Cruising For Sex |publisher=Lambda Legal |date=February 3, 2004 |access-date=February 9, 2012 |archive-date=May 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506212538/http://www.lambdalegal.org/news/ny_20040203_lambda-releases-little-black-book |url-status=live }}</ref> The "Little Black Book" includes the following material: "If you cruise in parks, bathrooms or other spaces open to public view, trust your instincts, be aware of your surroundings – and know your rights. While Lambda Legal and other groups are fighting against the ways police target men who have sex with men, having sex where others might see you and take offense can subject you to arrest, publicity and other serious consequences. If you feel unsafe, you should leave."<ref name="lambdalegal.org"/> The "Little Black Book" goes on to advise as follows: "If you’re cruising for sex and an undercover cop hits on you, what you do can still be a crime."<ref name="lambdalegal.org"/>

In July 2012, Lambda founder Bill Thom was interviewed at his nursing home in [[Manhattan]], and gave a first-hand account of the early years of Lambda Legal. This resulted in a letter<ref name="Lambda Legal Letter to Bill Thom, September 25, 2012">{{cite web|url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Lambda_Legal_Letter_to_Bill_Thom_September_25%2C_2012.pdf |title=Lambda Letter to Bill Thom, September 25, 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526224107/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Lambda_Legal_Letter_to_Bill_Thom_September_25%2C_2012.pdf|url-status=dead|archivedate=May 26, 2017}}</ref> from the current co-chair of Lambda Legal to Bill Thom dated September 25, 2012, in which he says "The world is a vastly better place for LGBT people than when I started practice 20 years ago and is almost unrecognizable from the world in which you took on the heroic and unprecedented task of fighting back."

Represented by Lambda Legal, [[Immigration Equality (organization)|Immigration Equality]] and law firm [[Morgan Lewis & Bockius]],<ref name=Greene>{{cite news |last1=Greene |first1=Jenna |title=Pro Bono Hero: How Morgan Lewis partner Manning helped win citizenship for babies of same-sex couples |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/pro-bono-hero-how-morgan-lewis-partner-manning-helped-win-citizenship-babies-2021-05-27/ |work=Reuters |date=27 May 2021 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=20 October 2021 |archive-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024030004/https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/pro-bono-hero-how-morgan-lewis-partner-manning-helped-win-citizenship-babies-2021-05-27/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in October 2020, the [[United States Department of State]] withdrew its appeal of the verdict in ''Kiviti v. Pompeo'', and declined to appeal ''Mize-Gregg v. Pompeo''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ring |first1=Trudy |title=State Dept. Quits Fight Over Citizenship of Same-Sex Couples' Kids |url=https://www.advocate.com/family/2020/10/27/state-dept-quits-fight-over-citizenship-same-sex-couples-kids |work=advocate.com |date=27 October 2020 |publisher=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |access-date=20 October 2021 |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021154726/https://www.advocate.com/family/2020/10/27/state-dept-quits-fight-over-citizenship-same-sex-couples-kids |url-status=live }}</ref> Federal district courts ruled the State Department's refusal to recognize children born overseas to married same-sex, American citizen couples as U.S. citizens to be unlawful in both cases.<ref name=Greene/><ref>{{cite web|title=Victory! State Department Withdraws Appeal in Cases of Same-Sex Couples' Children Refused Passports|website=www.lambdalegal.org|url=https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/20201027_victory-state-dept-withdraw-citizenship-same-sex-couples|date=27 October 2020|publisher=Lambda Legal|access-date=20 October 2021|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023014701/https://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/20201027_victory-state-dept-withdraw-citizenship-same-sex-couples|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following a 2017 Trump administration presidential order to ban transgender troops from the US military, Lambda indicated that they would be taking action to challenge the legality of the order.<ref>{{cite tweet|number=901214228119465985|user=LambdaLegal|title=Hey @realDonaldTrump, expect to get...|date=25 August 2017}}</ref> The order was blocked by courts until the Supreme Court allowed it to go into effect in January 2019, but was reversed two years later by executive order of [[Joe Biden|President Biden]], less than a week after his inauguration in January 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Detrow |first1=Scott |title=Biden Repeals Ben on Transgender Troops |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/president-biden-takes-office/2021/01/25/960338217/biden-repeals-trump-era-ban-on-transgender-soldiers |newspaper=NPR |date=25 January 2021 |publisher=National Public Radio |access-date=3 October 2021 |archive-date=18 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718003934/https://www.npr.org/sections/president-biden-takes-office/2021/01/25/960338217/biden-repeals-trump-era-ban-on-transgender-soldiers |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2022, Lambda Legal launched the first episode of its new podcast, "[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-the-case-with-lambda-legal/id1627063351 Making the Case]," hosted by Alex Berg. Listeners will have the opportunity to learn more about the creative strategies, unique challenges, and passion that helped win some of the most significant cases for the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV in recent memory.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 2022 |title=Lambda Legal Launches New Podcast |url=https://www.eriegaynews.com/news/article.php?recordid=202207lambdalegalpodcastlaunch |access-date=July 9, 2022 |website=Erie Gay News |archive-date=July 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709193549/https://www.eriegaynews.com/news/article.php?recordid=202207lambdalegalpodcastlaunch |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Attorneys and legal department ==
The legal department at Lambda Legal consists of a broad array of grassroots activists, corporate attorneys, Help Desk staff, and administrative professionals committed to achieving the full recognition of the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and people living with HIV:

'''Jenny Pizer''', Chief Legal Officer and the Eden/Rushing Chair for Lambda Legal:

As Chief Legal Officer, Jenny Pizer leads Lambda Legal's department of over 20 attorneys, 11 paraprofessionals, and five dozen impact litigation cases across the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jennifer C. Pizer Named Lambda Legal's Chief Legal Officer |url=https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/10/07/jennifer-c-pizer-named-lambda-legals-chief-legal-officer |access-date=2023-05-02 |work=The Advocate |language=en |archive-date=2023-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502072340/https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/10/07/jennifer-c-pizer-named-lambda-legals-chief-legal-officer |url-status=live }}</ref>

Pizer first joined Lambda Legal's staff in 1986 as an intern while attending New York University School of Law. Pizer co-counseled the litigation that legalized marriage between same-sex couples in California on May 15, 2008, in ''[[In re Marriage Cases|re Marriage Cases]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In re Marriage Cases, 43 Cal.4th 757 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/in-re-marriage-cases |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=casetext.com |archive-date=2023-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502003112/https://casetext.com/case/in-re-marriage-cases |url-status=live }}</ref> On August 18 of that same year, Pizer won a unanimous California Supreme Court victory in ''N. Coast Women's Care Med. v. S.C''<ref>{{Cite web |title=N. Coast Women's Care Med. v. S.C, 44 Cal.4th 1145 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/n-coast-womens-care-med-v-sc |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=casetext.com |archive-date=2023-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502003111/https://casetext.com/case/n-coast-womens-care-med-v-sc |url-status=live }}</ref> on behalf of Guadalupe Benitez, a lesbian denied infertility due to the discriminatory religious objections brought forth by her doctor.

She clerked for the honorable [[Ann Aldrich]] of the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio|U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio]], received her J.D. from [[New York University School of Law]] and her Bachelor of Arts from [[Harvard College]].

== Public education ==
As a part of Lambda Legal's education component, the organization periodically publishes articles, playbooks, and surveys to educate the general public and influence public policy on issues facing the [[LGBTQ|LGBTQ+]] community and people living with HIV.

On April 20, 2023, Lambda Legal partnered with the non-profit organizations Black and Pink National, and Strength in Numbers Consulting Group to publish the ''Protected & Served? 2022 Report''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protected & Served?: Voices from the Inside |url=https://lambdalegal.org/blogs/us_20230428_protected-served-voices-from-the-inside/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Lambda Legal |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502224633/https://lambdalegal.org/blogs/us_20230428_protected-served-voices-from-the-inside/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The report is a data-quantitative information of personal stories conducted across over 2,500 LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV capturing their experiences with misconduct involving police, courts, prisons, jails, schools, and other government agencies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 Report |url=https://www.protectedandserved.org/2022-report |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Protected & Served? |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503000135/https://www.protectedandserved.org/2022-report |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|LGBTQ|Law|United States}}
* [[LGBT rights in the United States]]
* [[List of LGBT rights organizations]]
* ''[[Diaz v. Brewer]]''
* ''[[Henkle v. Gregory]]''

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smBcpl0-vPk First-hand account Lambda Legal History – Bill Thom Remembers]

{{LGBTQ|rights=yes}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:LGBTQ political advocacy groups in the United States]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1971]]
[[Category:Legal advocacy organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Transgender law in the United States]]
[[Category:1971 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Movements for civil rights]]
[[Category:1971 in LGBTQ history]]
[[Category:LGBTQ rights organizations]]
[[Category:LGBTQ rights movement]]