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Since its inception in 1968, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area has operated under a simple but vital premise: everyone—regardless of race, class or legal status—deserves equal treatment under the law.

Over the course of this nation’s history, arguments falsely challenging the equality and value of one person or group compared to another have long been settled in the court of law. However, because hearts and minds cannot be legislated, conscious or subconscious racism, bias, prejudice and discrimination persist.

Working in three core priority areas: Racial Justice, Immigrant Justice, and Economic Justice, the Lawyers’ Committee strives to mitigate breaches of already established civil rights law and achieve “justice for all” through direct services, impact litigation and policy advocacy. Combining these strategies, we provide leadership and expertise in identifying legal issues and cases that are critical to the advancement of people of color and low income, and immigrant communities. We marshal the resources of the private bar to help effect structural change by introducing and/or supporting new laws and policies that will protect those who suffer the consequences of unfair treatment. A dedicated corps of volunteers from throughout the legal community and other agencies donate their time and effort but, most importantly, their dedication to equal justice knowing that access to sound legal representation is not a privilege, but a right.