Legal Momentum, founded in 1970, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the nation's first and longest-serving legal
advocacy
Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...
group for women in the United States.
Betty Friedan and
Muriel Fox were its co-founders and Muriel Fox is an ongoing leader of the organization.
Carol Baldwin Moody became President and CEO in April 2018. The organization, founded as the
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, became Legal Momentum in 2004. Legal Momentum is a multi-issue organization dedicated to advancing
women’s rights and gender equality, particularly in the areas of equal education opportunities; fairness in the courts; ending all forms of gender-based violence; workplace equality and economic empowerment. The organization employs three main strategies: impact litigation, policy advocacy, and educational initiatives. It is headquartered in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Major initiatives and involvement
* Wins ''Sprogis v. United Air Lines, Inc.'' (
marital status
Civil status, or marital status, are the distinct options that describe a person's relationship with a significant other. '' Married'', '' single'', '' divorced'', and ''widowed'' are examples of civil status.
''Civil status'' and ''marital st ...
discrimination
Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...
and
sex discrimination), 1970.
* Establishes the ''Judicial Appointment Project'' and the ''National Judicial Education Program'' to increase the number of female
federal judges and eliminate gender bias in the courts, 1978-88. The National Judicial Education Program continues to develop training material
and provide training for judges, prosecutors, and multidisciplinary audiences nationwide in order to improve the handling of sexual assault case
*Beginning in 1991, worked with the Senate Judiciary Committee to craft and pass the
Violence Against Women Act, 1994, and its 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2013 reauthorizations. Legal Momentum continues to craft and pass reauthorizations working with the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
* Wins ''Tallon v. Liberty Hose Co. No. 1'', (women as firefighters and gender-bias), 1984.
* ''Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards'' (workplace
pornography
Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...
constitutes sexual harassment), 1991 and 1995.
* Crafts the
Violence Against Women Act, 1994, and its 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2013 reauthorizations.
* Authors and works to enact the
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, 1994.
*
Amicus curiae
An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Wheth ...
in ''
United States v. Virginia'' involving the
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...
's denial of admission to women, 1996.
* Founded ''
Women's eNews'' in 1999 as an online news service highlighting women's issues.
*Argued ''
United States v. Morrison'' (concerning the private right of action under the original
Violence Against Women Act, including before the
U.S. Supreme Court, 2000.
* Supported the
Child and Dependent Care tax credit, 2001.
* ''Apessos v. Memorial Press Group'', (employer's discrimination against abuse victim by denying leave from work to obtain protection orders is unlawful), 2002.
*
Amicus curiae
An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Wheth ...
in ''
Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs'', 2003.
* Argued ''United States v. The City of New York'' (interpreting the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
as applied to
welfare recipients), 2004.
* The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) posted an extensive online course on an almost invisible issue with critical implications for risk assessment, ''Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: Adjudicating This Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence Cases''. Focused on judges but useful for multidisciplinary audiences, the online course is free and open to all, http://www.njep-ipsacourse.org, 2008.
*
Amicus curiae
An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Wheth ...
in ''
U.S. v. Castleman'' (gun ownership by convicted domestic abusers), 2014; Supreme Court's opinion cited information from the amicus brief by National Network to End Domestic Violence, Legal Momentum, et al.
*
Amicus curiae
An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Wheth ...
in ''
Young v. United Parcel Service'' (workplace accommodations for pregnant workers), 2014.
*Legal Momentum published in 2017 the Legal Toolkit for Women's Economic Equality, a comprehensive New York State guide that educates woman and advocates about rights and benefits in 13 cross-cutting areas that relate to women’s economic security.
*Instrumental in passing legislation in 17 states outlawing sexual extortion
Impact Litigation
Legal Momentum pursues precedent-setting litigation to define and defend women’s rights. It brings cases of national significance to the field of women's rights and contributes amicus ("friend of the court") briefs in cases dealing with issues central to its mission in four main categories: Fairness in the Courts, Violence Against Women and Girls, Workplace Equality and Economic Empowerment, and Equal Education Opportunities. Notable cases include ''United Steelworkers v. Weber'', amicus in ''Grove City College v. Bell'', ''NOW v. Terry'', ''Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards'', ''Inc''., ''Saenz v. Roe'', ''Faragher v. Boca Raton,'' ''Wedow and Kline v. City of Kansas City, and Florida Abolitionist and Jane Doe v. Backpage.com et al.''.
The Syms Legal Momentum Gender Equality Helpline is a free, national resource that provides information, assistance, and referrals for anyone facing gender discrimination. Each year, Legal Momentum fields hundreds of inquiries directing people to the appropriate resources and next steps for their individual circumstance and provides legal representation in a small number of potentially high-impact cases.
Legislation and Advocacy
Legal Momentum leads advocacy efforts on a range of policy solutions aimed at responding to and eradicating gender discrimination and achieving gender equality.
Beginning in 1991, Legal Momentum worked closely with then-Senator Biden to draft and pass the ''Violence Against Women Act'' (VAWA), focused on domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. Since 1994, VAWA has provided billions of dollars for victim services, education for justice system professionals and prevention programs aimed at ending gender-based violence.
To pass VAWA, Legal Momentum organized the National Task Force on the Violence Against Women Act which has evolved into the large and diverse National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. Legal Momentum is a leading member of this task force that focuses on strengthening VAWA through subsequent reauthorizations.
Legal Momentum also authored the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which protects those seeking reproductive health services from physical violence and intimidation at the clinic door.
Beginning in 2017, Legal Momentum—observing a rapidly growing form of gender-based violence and a gap in laws across the country to address it—led advocacy leading to laws in 16 states and D.C. to close loopholes that allowed for technology-facilitated sextortion offenders to escape accountability.
A statement by 16 women's rights organizations including Legal Momentum, the
National Women's Law Center, the
National Women's Political Caucus,
Girls, Inc., End Rape on Campus,
Equal Rights Advocates, the
American Association of University Women
The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...
, and the
Women's Sports Foundation
The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit charity focused on female involvement in sports. Founded in 1974 by tennis player Billie Jean King and initially supported by Olympic athletes Donna de Varona and Suzy Chaffee ...
said that, "as organizations that fight every day for equal opportunities for all women and girls, we speak from experience and expertise when we say that nondiscrimination protections for transgender people—including women and girls who are transgender—are not at odds with women’s equality or well-being, but advance them" and that "we support laws and policies that protect transgender people from discrimination, including in participation in sports, and reject the suggestion that cisgender women and girls benefit from the exclusion of women and girls who happen to be transgender."
Educational Initiatives
The ''National Judicial Education Program (NJEP''), founded in 1980, creates, presents and publishes a range of curricula and articles grounded in legal, social, and neuroscience research used to educate the judiciary about gender bias and how it can undermine fairness in our justice system. NJEP’s curricula include ''Understanding Sexual Violence: the Judicial Response to Stranger and Nonstranger Rape and Sexual Assault'', and a web course'', Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: Adjudicating the Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence Cases'', available free at www.njep-ipsacourse.org.
Legal Momentum’s ''Rights Now''! peer education program works with youth, especially young women of color, by developing their knowledge and leadership on issues of gender-based violence and discrimination, and empowering them to carry that knowledge back into their communities to teach others.
Legal Momentum’s ''Women Valued'' leads legislative advocacy and know-your-rights educational initiatives focused on safeguarding the rights of groups who have long been underserved by our laws, including women of color, immigrant women, victims of gender-based violence, and the disproportionate number of women relegated to low-wage work.
Name and brand identity
In 2004, the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund rebranded to Legal Momentum, a more succinct, mission-centric name that reflects the evolution and ongoing work of the organization.
[Nancy Schwartz]
CASE STUDY: How a Nonprofit Name Change Generated Attention and Momentum
.
See also
*
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
*
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
*
Employment law
Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...
*
Equal Pay Act
*
Gender discrimination
References
External links
Legal Momentum websiteRecords of the NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund, 1968-2008: A Finding Aid.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
Records of Legal Momentum, 1978-2011: A Finding Aid.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
{{authority control
Legal advocacy organizations in the United States
Women's political advocacy groups in the United States
Feminist organizations in the United States
National Organization for Women
History of women's rights in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in New York (state)