Law Forward is an American non-profit legal advocacy organization based in
Madison, Wisconsin. Jeff Mandell and Doug Poland founded Law Forward in October 2020. Poland was notable for his role as a lead trial attorney in ''
Gill v. Whitford'', a major 2018
U.S. Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of
partisan gerrymandering.
Law Forward is currently headquartered in
Madison, Wisconsin.
History
Law Forward was founded by Jeff Mandell, who serves as its Leader Counsel and Board President, as well as Doug Poland, who serves as its Litigation Director.
In 2021, Law Forward requested
Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm
John Theodore Chisholm (born March 14, 1963) is an American prosecutor and politician who has served as Milwaukee County District Attorney since 2007. A career prosecutor, Chisholm specialized in complex conspiracy prosecutions before his electio ...
to launch an investigation on Republicans who had sent fraudulent electoral college certifications for Donald Trump during the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections.
In January 2022, Law Forward also appealed a judge's order barring Wisconsin ballot drop boxes for the February 15 election. Another one of Law Forward's ongoing cases in 2022 seeks to reinstate voters.
Issues
Law Forward specializes in diverse issues, including voter suppression, election interference,
gerrymandering, and minority voting rights. It also focuses on politics in Wisconsin politics,
including state-level elections and voting issues. It is also a non-partisan
strategic litigation firm according to Mandell.
People
The Legal Advisory Council at Law Forward includes former legislators, politicians, and judges.
* Hon.
Russ Feingold, Former United States Senator from Wisconsin, President of the
American Constitution Society, Honorary Co-Chair
* Hon.
Barbara Lawton, Former
Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, Honorary Co-Chair
* Hon.
Paul Higginbotham, Former Judge for the
Wisconsin Court of Appeals
*
Ian Bassin
Ian Bassin is an American lawyer, writer, and activist who serves as executive director of Protect Democracy. He previously served as Associate White House Counsel under President Obama.
In 2022, ''Washingtonian'' named Bassin one of the 500 mos ...
, Executive Director of
Protect Democracy
Protect Democracy is a nonprofit organization based in the United States. A nonpartisan group, Protect Democracy seeks to check what it believes are authoritarian attacks on U.S. democracy.
Protect Democracy states that it seeks to use litigatio ...
Staff attorneys include Mel Barnes, who has written reports with
Norm Eisen,
Norman Ornstein, Jeff Mandell, and others.
Media
Mandell has been interviewed in various media outlets, including the
Rachel Maddow Show on
MSNBC,
''
The Washington Post'',
and others.
References
{{reflist
Politics of Wisconsin
Electoral reform groups in the United States
Political advocacy groups in the United States