TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund is an organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that provides legal and media support to individuals who have been subject to workplace sexual harassment. The Fund is housed and administered by the

National Women's Law Center The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) is a United States non-profit organization founded by Marcia Greenberger in 1972 and based in Washington, D.C. The Center advocates for women's rights and LGBTQ rights through litigation and policy initiati ...

(NWLC), a

501(c)3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of t ...

non-profit organization that advocates for gender justice in the courts, in public policy, and in our society.

History

The TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund was co-founded in January 2018 by Roberta Kaplan and

Tina Tchen Christina M. Tchen (born January 25, 1956) is an American lawyer and a former official in the President Barack Obama Administration. She was CEO of Time's Up from 2019 to 2021, when she resigned following allegations that she provided legal aid ...

, both formerly with the TIME'S UP Foundation, and

Fatima Goss Graves Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...

, President and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. Since its inception, the Fund has been operating independently from the organizations TIME’S UP Now and TIME’S UP Foundation, and has been housed and administered by the National Women’s Law Center. In August 2021 Kaplan and Tchen resigned from their roles with the TIME'S UP Foundation after an investigation into New York governor Andrew Cuomo's sexual harassment allegations revealed TIME'S UP leadership had advised Cuomo while he was fighting the allegations.
/ref> In January 2023, TIME’S UP Now and TIME’S UP Foundation ceased operations and transferred the majority of their remaining funds to TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund.  The Fund continues to be housed and administered by the National Women’s Law Center. The Fund’s current director is Jennifer Mondino.

Funding

The Fund was originally financed by fundraising through the TIME'S UP Foundation. The initial 2018 fundraising GoFundMe campaign for the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund raised $21 million in its first two months. As of January 2023, the Fund is financed through fundraising by the National Women’s Law Center.

Work

The Fund provides financial support for legal representation and media support and storytelling assistance in situations involving to individuals who have been subject to workplace sexual harassment. The Fund has also awarded funding to community-based organizations for community outreach and education about workplace sex harassment. Through the NWLC’s Legal Network for Gender Equity, the Fund also connects individuals with legal help in situations involving sex discrimination, including sex harassment, in the workplace, education, and health care.

Reception

''The New York Times'' in 2019 called the Fund " ime's Ups crown jewel" and in 2021 said the initiative represented possibly Time's Up's most significant achievement.

References

{{Weinstein effect 2018 establishments in the United States 2018 in women's history Feminism in the United States Fourth-wave feminism Internet-based activism Sexual harassment in the United States Violence against women Legal aid in the United States Legal advocacy organizations in the United States