Public Rights Project
Public Rights Project is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization founded in 2017 that partners with state, local, and tribal government officials to provide litigation support, training, and coalition building for civil rights protection.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Public Rights Project does
Public Rights Project (PRP) is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization founded in 2017 by Jill Habig and headquartered in Oakland, California. The organization partners with state, local, and tribal government officials—including mayors, city attorneys, county executives, and local election officials—to provide direct legal representation, litigation support, training, and coalition-building services in defense of civil rights. PRP focuses on four issue areas: reproductive rights, voting rights, workers' rights, and abuses of power.
PRP's core offerings include the Legal Advocacy Services program, which provides direct representation and amicus brief support in civil rights litigation; the Affirmative Leaders Fellowship, a training program for mid-career government attorneys that has produced over 3,600 participants since 2017; and two resource hubs—the Election Protection Hub (launched 2024) and the Civil Rights Hub (launched 2025)—which serve as one-stop platforms for pro bono legal support, technical assistance, and policy guidance to government partners. The organization operates no proprietary technology product; it is a service-based legal entity.
Public Rights Project is funded primarily through foundation grants (including the William Penn Foundation and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation) and individual/organizational donations. Services are delivered at no cost to government partners. Since founding, PRP has built a network of more than 1,300 government partners across 197 jurisdictions and 22+ U.S. states, reports $46 million+ in recovered relief, and has advanced voting access for 35 million people and legal access to abortion for 25 million people. The organization is governed by an independent board and is not a subsidiary of any parent entity.
Public Rights Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Public Rights Project
- Legal name
- Public Rights Project
- Website
- https://publicrightsproject.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Public Rights Project is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization founded in 2017 that partners with state, local, and tribal government officials to provide litigation support, training, and coalition building for civil rights protection.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Public Rights Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Interest Legal Advocacy
- NAICS
- Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)
- SIC
- Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB), Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC)
Keywords
Where Public Rights Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Public Rights Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Foundation Grants: Public Rights Project operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through foundation grants. The organization received a $150,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation to bolster defense of democratic and civil rights and support free and fair elections.
- Donations: Individual and organizational donations support PRP's mission to help local government officials fight for civil rights and defend democratic institutions.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Public Rights Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Public Rights Project provides direct legal representation, litigation support, and amicus brief participation to local government officials pursuing affirmative civil rights litigation across reproductive rights, voting rights, workers' rights, and abuses of power. The organization complements legal advocacy with the Affirmative Leaders Fellowship training program, the Civil Rights Hub and Election Protection Hub resource centers, and an online resource library for government attorneys.
Product overview
Public Rights Project is a legal advocacy nonprofit organization, not a technology product company. The organization provides a suite of services to local government officials comprising direct legal representation in civil rights litigation, the Affirmative Leaders Fellowship training program, and two resource hubs: the Civil Rights Hub and the Election Protection Hub. These offerings are complemented by a Resource Center containing publications and guides. The organization does not offer a software product but rather provides legal advocacy services, training, and coalition-building support to help mayors, city attorneys, local election officials, and other local leaders protect and advance civil rights.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Civil Rights Hub: A one-stop shop to help cities and counties address threats to their funding and authority, bolster legal advocacy in state and federal courts, focusing on reproductive and gender rights, economic justice and security, and immigrant rights.
- Election Protection Hub
- Affirmative Leaders Fellowship (ALF)
Products and services
- Legal Advocacy Services Direct legal representation and amicus brief support for local governments in civil rights litigation, covering reproductive rights, voting rights, workers' rights, and challenges to federal and state abuses of power. Services are provided to local government offices at no cost.
- Affirmative Leaders Fellowship A fellowship program for mid-career state, local, or tribal government attorneys designed to help them initiate, expand, or deepen their office's equitable enforcement work through affirmative litigation skills training and applied learning.
- Civil Rights Hub A one-stop resource hub providing pro bono legal support, technical assistance, virtual and in-person convenings, and policy development for local government officials to protect and advance civil rights across reproductive rights, economic justice, and immigrant rights.
- Election Protection Hub A dedicated hub providing direct legal support, training, and technical assistance specifically for local election officials to run free and fair elections and protect constituents' voting rights.
- Resource Center An online collection of essential guidance materials including guides, one-pagers, videos, and publications designed to help local government attorneys strengthen civil rights policies and understand affirmative litigation.
Quantifiable outcome
- $46 million+ recovered for marginalized people since 2017
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Public Rights Project
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Public Rights Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Public Rights Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, moderate and minor.
- Southern Environmental Law CentermajorSouthern Environmental Law Center and Public Rights Project jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's termination of the $2.8 billion Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program. The coalition successfully voided the illegal cancellation.
- EarthjusticemajorEarthjustice and Public Rights Project filed a class-action lawsuit against the EPA challenging termination of $3 billion in Environmental and Climate Justice grants on behalf of more than 20 municipalities, air quality monitoring groups, and Tribes.
- Lawyers for Good GovernmentmajorLawyers for Good Government partnered with Earthjustice, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Public Rights Project on the class-action lawsuit against EPA over terminated environmental grants.
- Pacificia Law GroupmajorPacifica Law Group partnered with Public Rights Project representing 60 local governments in King County v. Turner, achieving a preliminary injunction blocking Trump administration's attack on $12 billion in housing, transit, and health funding.
- UCLA Voting Rights ProjectmoderateUCLA Voting Rights Project worked alongside PRP on California voting rights issues, including challenging Riverside County Sheriff's ballot seizure investigation.
- Protect DemocracymoderateProtect Democracy partnered with Public Rights Project and a bipartisan coalition of election officials to urge Arizona court to protect fair elections.
- National Alliance to End HomelessnessmoderateNational Alliance to End Homelessness joined local governments and PRP in filing lawsuit to stop Trump administration's attempts to restrict funding for homelessness programs.
- Community Justice ProjectminorCommunity Justice Project, led by Senior Staff Attorney Berbeth Foster, works with PRP on protecting rights of community organizers including rights to protest and appeal to local governments.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Public Rights Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ACLU: The ACLU is the largest U.S. civil liberties organization and operates across all of PRP's issue areas (reproductive rights, voting rights, immigrants' rights, workers' rights) via affiliate network and direct litigation, making it the most prominent broad incumbent against which PRP competes for funder dollars and partner mindshare.
- NAACP Legal Defense Fund: LDF is a historic civil rights legal organization that litigates on voting rights and racial justice—core PRP issue areas. LDF is a broader incumbent with significantly larger resources that competes for funder attention on similar affirmative litigation work.
- Brennan Center for Justice: Brennan Center focuses on voting rights, election administration, and democratic institutions—directly overlapping PRP's Election Protection Hub work. It operates as a think tank-plus-litigation hybrid at NYU, competing for both grants and policy influence.
- Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: Lawyers' Committee is a national civil rights legal organization that litigates on voting rights and election protection—overlapping heavily with PRP's Election Protection Hub and election-related casework.
Direct peers
- Earthjustice: Earthjustice co-litigates with PRP on environmental justice funding cases (e.g., the $3B EPA Environmental and Climate Justice grants class action) and shares PRP's strategy of using affirmative litigation to defend federal funding and regulatory protections for vulnerable communities.
- Southern Environmental Law Center: SELC is a PRP co-counsel on federal funding litigation (Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant challenge) and operates a similar model of regional nonprofit environmental and civil rights law firm, making it a direct strategic peer on coalition litigation.
- Protect Democracy: Protect Democracy partners with PRP on election protection and democratic institutions defense, sharing PRP's focus on countering abuses of power through litigation and advocacy. Both organizations are recent entrants working at the federal-state-civil society interface.
- Lawyers for Good Government: L4GG is a PRP coalition partner on the EPA class-action and shares the model of mobilizing pro bono lawyers and legal aid to defend civil rights and government services against federal overreach.
Emerging players
- Texas Civil Rights Project: Texas Civil Rights Project is a comparable state-and-local-focused affirmative litigation nonprofit that PRP's new board member Mimi Marziani previously led. It shares PRP's emphasis on voting rights and using state/local government capacity to advance civil rights.
- National Women's Law Center: NWLC litigates on reproductive rights and gender equality—two core PRP issue areas—and competes for the same pool of foundation funding and amicus coalition slots on women's rights and reproductive cases.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Public Rights Project social profiles
Digital presencePublic Rights Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Public Rights Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Public Rights Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors1 record
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Public Rights Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Public Rights Project
What does Public Rights Project do?
Public Rights Project provides direct legal representation, litigation support, and amicus brief participation to local government officials pursuing affirmative civil rights litigation across reproductive rights, voting rights, workers' rights, and abuses of power. The organization complements legal advocacy with the Affirmative Leaders Fellowship training program, the Civil Rights Hub and Election Protection Hub resource centers, and an online resource library for government attorneys.
Is Public Rights Project a public or private company?
Public Rights Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Public Rights Project founded?
Public Rights Project was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Public Rights Project based?
Public Rights Project is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Public Rights Project make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Foundation Grants are the primary driver. The others are donations.
Who are Public Rights Project's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Brennan Center for Justice and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Direct peers are Earthjustice, Southern Environmental Law Center, Protect Democracy and Lawyers for Good Government. Emerging players are Texas Civil Rights Project and National Women's Law Center.
Does Public Rights Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for Public Rights Project.
What industry is Public Rights Project in?
Public Rights Project's product category is Public Interest Legal Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAFAA, Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy, with a secondary code of BPAGAFAB, Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations. Its NAICS code is 813311 and its SIC code is 8111.