Formed in 1937, The National Lawyers Guild has truly been at the forefront of progressive law since their inception both in the United States and around the world. As an alternative to the American Bar Association and as the first racially integrated bar association, the NLG has managed to both stay true to their ideals and to maintain their activist roots despite the trials and tribulations they have had to endure. Progressive Lawyer talked with Azadeh Shahshahani, the president of the NLG on what they do and why. Azadeh is a 2004 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, where she served as article editor for the Michigan Journal of International Law. Also while in law school, Azadeh completed a fellowship with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Washington, DC.
Progressive Lawyer: Hello! Please introduce yourself and describe your role in the National Lawyers Guild.
Azadeh Shahshahani: My name is Azadeh Shahshahani and I serve as President of the National Lawyers Guild.
PL: Why was the National Lawyers Guild started? What issues does it confront? Touch on some of the rich history of the NLG.
AS: The National Lawyers Guild was established in 1937 as the first racially integrated bar association by progressive lawyers and jurists who believed that they had a major role to play in the reconstruction of legal values to emphasize human rights over property rights. The Guild is the oldest and most extensive network of public interest and human rights activists working within the legal system. For more, I would encourage you to check out the historical timeline on the NLG website which provides a snapshot of our rich history: http://www.nlg.org/about/
PL: What services does NLG offer? Who are its primary clients/audience?
AS: Our different committees, task forces, projects, and caucuses offer different services depending on their focus. For example, the Military Law Task Force provides legal support and advice to service members including conscientious objectors. The National Immigration Project brings lawsuits to defend immigrants’ rights and provides cutting-edge training to attorneys. The International Committee sends delegations to countries in which the US has had a destructive role through its foreign policy and attempts to hold the US government accountable for lending support to dictatorial regimes and attempting to destabilize governments with a leftist bent. The underlying focus of all NLG constituencies however is to provide support to social justice movements and to individuals and communities under attack. The full listing of our committees is here: http://www.nlg.org/committee.
Also, we have a referral directory here: https://www.nlg.org/referral-
PL: How do you utilize the law to further your organizational goals?
AS: We use the law as a tool to fight oppression. The membership of the National Police Accountability Project (a project of the NLG) for example pursue litigation to seek redress for survivors of police abuse. In another context, the NLG along with the Michigan Chapter of the NLG and the Sugar Law Center (which is affiliated with the NLG) and several NLG attorneys are part of a groundbreaking lawsuit in Detroit aimed at stopping the shutting off of the residents’ water.
PL: What role do legal professionals play in the NLG? Are they affiliated with the NLG or do they work directly with the organization?
AS: Our membership consists of lawyers, legal workers, law students, and jailhouse lawyers. So legal workers are indeed an active part of our membership.
PL: The NLG has been attacked relentlessly in the past to the point where membership suffered and the very survival of the organization was at stake. How has the NLG fared in regrouping and reengaging the legal profession?
AS: Because of who we are and where we stand on the political spectrum, we have always been under attack by the government. For example, our members have long been impacted by abusive governmental surveillance, as evidenced by the 30,000 files the FBI collected on NLG members from 1940-1975, and described in the NLG/FBI lawsuit Settlement Agreement. This has been documented in a 2014 NLG report: “Breach of Privilege: Spying on Lawyers in the United States” (nlg.org/breachofprivilege). But precisely because of who we are and our unique voice and the space we offer to radical and progressive legal activists, we have always had a devoted membership able to regroup and band together in particularly difficult times.
PL: Do you feel that the NLG remains relevant and necessary?
AS: Of course. During Occupy, we were at the forefront of providing legal support to the movement. In Ferguson, the NLG has had a consistent presence on the ground since the first days of the protests. Tens of NLG Legal Observers have been on the streets in Ferguson at different times, reaching 80 this past weekend (this interview was conducted on October 15th, 2014. ed). NLG members have also been helping with jail support, facilitating legal support meetings, setting up arrestees with defense attorneys, and overall legal support and jail support. In another context, in response to the Israeli attack on Gaza, the NLG was joined by several other legal groups in asking the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate Israeli war crimes. We also sent a delegation to the West Bank in May to investigate the situation of Palestinian political prisoners at the same time that they were on hunger strike to protest the Israeli practice of indefinite detention without charges. In a related context, NLG members are currently providing representation to Rasmea Odeh, the Chicago-based Palestinian community leader who is being targeted by the US government for allegedly not revealing on her naturalization application a decade ago that she was convicted by an Israeli military court pursuant to brutal torture. In the immigrants’ rights context, the National Immigration Project of the NLG and NLG attorneys have teamed up with the ACLU and other organizations to sue the federal government to challenge its “fast-track” expedited removal policies that are being used against mothers and children detained in Artesia, New Mexico. Project members are also active on the ground providing legal support to the detained families.
PL: How has been your reception by law students over the last few years? Do you see more or less law students engaged in NLG issues and projects?
AS: Our student member numbers have been consistent over the past several years, generally higher when there is a student organizer in the National Office. As with Guild membership in general, numbers correlate with the strength and activity of social justice movements. More students join when the Guild is doing highly visible Mass Defense, such as NLG legal support for Occupy, or other work.
PL: Do you offer any internships or volunteer opportunities?
AS: Yes. During the summer, we offer the Haywood Burns Fellowships for law students. Currently named after Haywood Burns, long-time radical lawyer, law professor, and former president of the National Lawyers Guild, the fellowships are intended to encourage students to work in the NLG’s tradition of “people’s lawyering.”
We are also currently looking for interns to offer support to our mass defense work. (More information of fellowships can be found here: http://www.nlg.org/fellowships)
PL: How would a legal professional pursue a career with your organization? What advice would you give to a law student or legal professional who would be interested in pursuing the progressive type of law that the NLG is a proponent of?
AS: The NLG has a NextGen Committee which facilitates mentorship opportunities through various NLG Chapters. There are also vast networking opportunities for NLG members through chapters, committees, regional meetings, and our annual Convention.
For someone just out of law school looking to work with a social justice organization, I would recommend a fellowship. That would allow them to establish their footing and build up their experience. During law school, students should also pursue various internship and volunteer opportunities to build connections with the progressive legal community.
PL: How do you balance your work life with your private life?
AS: I exercise every day. It gives me peace of mind. I also try to stay in touch with friends and get together with them on a regular basis.
PL: Outside of your organization, what issues are you particularly passionate about?
AS: I work with the ACLU of Georgia as National Security/Immigrants’ Rights Project Director. So obviously I am passionate about immigrants’ rights and defending the rights of Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities who are under attack in Georgia and across the South.
PL: What do you think the role of law and lawyers should be in society?
AS: To lend legal support to social justice movements and seek redress for individuals whose rights have been violated.
Speaking Freely: Ann Fagan Ginger from National Lawyers Guild on Vimeo.
For more information on the National Lawyers Guild please go to http://www.nlg.org/. Information on starting a student chapter can be found at http://www.nlg.org/law-students/law-students-and-guild. A sincere thank you to Azadeh for taking the time to speak to Progressive Lawyer.
Until next week!