Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty

What Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty does

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm and policy organization headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, founded in 2011 by Rick Esenberg to address the underrepresentation of conservative and libertarian voices in Wisconsin's courts and policy arena. WILL provides free constitutional litigation to individuals, parents, small business owners, farmers, and taxpayers facing government overreach, alongside econometric policy research and public advocacy organized around six issue verticals: Limited Government, Individual Liberties, Constitutional Government and Rule of Law, Economic Freedom, Education Reform, and Equality Under the Law. Its docket spans 100+ matters with an ~80% lifetime win rate, including multiple Wisconsin Supreme Court rulings on First Amendment, parental rights, race-based admissions, election administration, and property rights, and a national footprint of 80 clients across 25 states via the Equality Under the Law Project launched in 2021.

WILL's "technology" consists of legal expertise, econometric research methodology (led by Research Director Will Flanders, Ph.D., whose work appears in the Journal of School Choice, Wall Street Journal, and National Review), and a communications infrastructure built around op-eds, op-ed syndication, a podcast, legislative testimony, and social channels — there is no proprietary software platform or productized technology offering. The business model is donation-funded 501(c)(3) charitable giving: all legal services are pro bono to clients, and revenue is sourced from individual donors, foundations, and grants, with board overlap into Wisconsin's Bradley Foundation and corporate leadership networks. WILL publishes IRS Form 990 annually and carries a four-star Charity Navigator rating.

Distribution is purely community- and event-led: earned media in the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and National Review drives top-of-funnel awareness; direct outreach via 'Contact a Lawyer' and 'Contact Us' web forms converts prospective plaintiffs; legislative testimony and policy reports activate the donor and policymaker funnel. Co-counsel partnerships with Alliance Defending Freedom, America First Legal, Pacific Legal Foundation, Mountain States Legal Foundation, and the Center for Individual Rights embed WILL in a national conservative legal network that amplifies case selection and resource pooling.

Name

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty

Legal name

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty Inc.

Website

https://will-law.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is a Milwaukee-based 501(c)(3) public interest law firm and policy organization that provides free constitutional litigation to Wisconsin individuals and small businesses, conducts conservative policy research, and through its Equality Under the Law Project represents clients in 25 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Interest Legal Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Offices of Lawyers (54111), Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC)

Keywords

• Constitutional litigation
• Public interest law
• Policy research
• Education reform advocacy
• Legal advocacy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: WILL operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations from individuals, foundations, and organizations that share its conservative mission. The website features a 'Donate' CTA. The organization is linked to major Wisconsin foundations including the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (former President and CEO Michael Grebe serves on WILL's board). WILL publishes Public 990 forms annually, confirming reliance on charitable contributions.
2. Pro Bono Legal Services: WILL provides free legal representation to clients including small business owners, parents, teachers, farmers, and taxpayers. Services are provided at no cost to clients; the organization absorbs costs as part of its nonprofit mission. This model attracts clients who cannot afford legal fees but have meritorious constitutional claims.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public interest law firm and policy organization that provides pro bono legal representation in constitutional and civil liberties cases, conducts original policy research, and engages in public advocacy. WILL advances the rule of law, individual liberty, constitutional government, education reform, and economic freedom primarily through litigation in state and federal courts, legislative testimony, and policy publications.

Product overview

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is a public interest law firm and policy organization that provides legal litigation services, policy research, and advocacy rather than technology products. The organization operates through multiple legal projects including the Limited Government Project, Individual Liberties, Constitutional Government and Rule of Law, Economic Freedom, Education Reform, and Equality Under the Law. It also conducts policy work through initiatives such as Healthcare Price Transparency, and maintains communications through its 'If You Can Keep It' podcast.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Constitutional Litigation and Legal Representation Pro bono legal representation for individuals, parents, taxpayers, small business owners, workers, and students in cases involving constitutional rights, First Amendment issues, property rights, parental rights, election law, and government overreach. Provided free of charge to clients in state and federal courts.
• Equality Under the Law Project National litigation and policy project challenging race-based government programs in education, contracting, healthcare, and agriculture. Has represented 80 clients from 25 states since launch, filing lawsuits against federal and state agencies targeting discriminatory DEI programs.
• Econometric Education Policy Research Original policy research covering Wisconsin education policy, including return-on-investment analyses for charter schools, effects of Act 10 on the teaching workforce, economic benefits of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, and K-12 education reform. Research has appeared in academic journals including the Journal of School Choice.
• Healthcare Price Transparency Initiative Policy research and advocacy initiative focused on healthcare price transparency in Wisconsin, producing research commentaries and policy reports.
• If You Can Keep It Podcast Limited-series multimedia podcast focused on Constitutional principles and contemporary policy debates. Distributed free to the public through the website and digital channels.
• Election Integrity Litigation and Advocacy Litigation and policy advocacy covering redistricting cases, voter ID advocacy, Wisconsin Elections Commission challenges, election integrity reports, and the 11-month review of the 2020 election.

Quantifiable outcome

• WILL has prevailed in approximately 80% of the matters it has undertaken since its founding in 2011.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026WILL partnered with Alliance Defending Freedom as co-counsel in multiple cases involving parental rights and school policies, including T.F, B.F. v. Kettle Moraine School District and Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire Area School District. ADF is a nationally recognized Christian legal advocacy organization.
• Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024WILL partnered with Pacific Legal Foundation to file Earle Asphalt Company, Inc. v. New Jersey Turnpike Authority, a federal lawsuit challenging unconstitutional mandates that force contractors to meet rigid race and sex-based hiring quotas. PLF is a national public interest law firm specializing in property rights and economic liberty.
• America First Legal (AFL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023WILL partnered with America First Legal as co-counsel in Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire Area School District, a federal lawsuit challenging school district policies facilitating gender transitions without parental notification. AFL is a national conservative legal organization.
• Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023WILL and Mountain States Legal Foundation co-represented Young America's Foundation (YAF) in a First Amendment case against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, which had denied the conservative student organization's recognition because YAF refused to sign a DEI inclusivity statement. UW-La Crosse reversed its decision after legal threats.
• Center for Individual Rights (CIR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023WILL and the Center for Individual Rights co-filed YAF v. SBA, a major lawsuit against the Trump Administration targeting the 'socially disadvantaged individuals' preference in federal programs. CIR is a nonprofit public interest law firm.
• MacIver InstituteminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023WILL and the MacIver Institute co-authored a report finding that a longstanding Wisconsin statute conflicts with the Wisconsin Constitution's 'secret ballot' guarantee. MacIver Institute is a Wisconsin-based free-market think tank. The organizations jointly called for the Wisconsin Legislature to amend the law.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Institute for Justice: National libertarian public-interest law firm litigating economic liberty, property rights, and school choice cases; highly comparable in operating model and case mix to WILL.
• Alliance Defending Freedom: National conservative public-interest legal organization litigating religious liberty, parental rights, and free-speech cases; WILL co-counsel with ADF in multiple school-policy matters such as Kettle Moraine and Eau Claire Area School District.
• Mountain States Legal Foundation: Public-interest law firm focused on federalism, property rights, and limited government; co-counsel with WILL in the Young America's Foundation First Amendment case against UW-La Crosse.
• Pacific Legal Foundation: Public-interest law firm specializing in property rights and economic liberty; partnered with WILL on Earle Asphalt v. New Jersey Turnpike Authority challenging race- and sex-based hiring quotas.
• Mackinac Center for Public Policy: Michigan-based free-market state policy and litigation center; comparable as a state-focused public-interest legal/policy hybrid competing for similar conservative donor dollars and cases.
• Center for Individual Rights: Nonprofit public-interest law firm; co-filed YAF v. SBA with WILL targeting 'socially disadvantaged individuals' preferences in federal programs, making it a directly comparable litigation peer.
• Goldwater Institute: Arizona-based state-level litigation and policy center with a similar 'state-based litigation shop plus policy research' model, making it one of the closest structural analogs to WILL.
• America First Legal: National conservative legal organization; partnered with WILL on Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire Area School District challenging parental-notification policies on gender transitions.

Broad incumbents

• Americans for Prosperity: Large national advocacy organization that funds and coordinates conservative litigation and policy campaigns; overlaps with WILL on donor base and policy goals but is not a pure litigation shop.
• Cato Institute: Libertarian think tank engaging in originalist constitutional scholarship and amicus work; comparable in ideological positioning and policy-research output, though it does not run a direct litigation practice.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wilawliberty
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCCO0yqazGYDg3l8YdrsZI3Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/WILawLiberty
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wilawliberty
• Instagraminstagram.com/wi_lawliberty

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty