The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering

What The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering does

The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering (C4LL) is a California-based nonprofit legal organization founded in 2021 that practices "movement lawyering" — integrating legal expertise with grassroots community organizing to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and confront systemic racism and ableism in education. The organization operates from a worker-cooperative-in-development model with horizontal governance, currently structured under fiscal sponsorship by the Gender and Sexualities Alliance Network (GSAN). Revenue is sourced from individual donations routed through GSAN's Pledge.to/CiviCRM infrastructure, foundation grants (Weingart Foundation, California Endowment), and Equal Justice Works fellowship funding; services are provided at no cost to community partners.

The organization delivers three core services: (1) Organizing-Movement Lawyering Partnerships, embedding legal staff within long-term organizing infrastructure of base-building partners in South LA, Inland Empire, and Central Valley to support investigations of harms, Public Records Act (PRA) Requests, and monitoring of policy implementation; (2) Communities of Practice, facilitating state-wide coalitions including Dignity in Schools Campaign California (DSC-CA), the Fix School Discipline Policy Coalition, and Dignity in Schools Campaign National; and (3) Community Education Defense, a cohort-based workshop curriculum using storytelling, role-play, visuals, and dialogue to equip families as education defenders in their networks. Underlying methodology includes community-led investigation, PRA-based data workflows, human rights shadow reports, and "each-one-teach-one" propagation.

The customer base is exclusively nonprofits and community organizing groups — including CADRE (South LA parent organization with a 10+ year relationship), COPE (San Bernardino), CVMB (Central Valley), DSC-CA, Black Layup, Arts for Healing and Justice Network, Building Healthy Communities Monterey County, and LAYUP. The team is small (two co-founders — Ashleigh Washington and Ruth Cusick — plus an EJW Fellow and a legal apprentice). Co-founder pedigree includes Skadden Fellowship, UCLA Critical Race Studies specializations, and prior leadership of Public Counsel's Statewide Education Rights Project. Documented policy outcomes include a $25 million reduction in the LA School Police Budget and statewide elimination of suspensions/expulsions for disruption/defiance in California. Pricing is non-commercial: services are free to partners, and there are no fee-for-service revenue streams.

Name

The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering

Legal name

The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering

Website

https://c4ll-ca.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering (C4LL) is a California nonprofit that embeds movement lawyering within grassroots organizing partnerships to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. It serves base-building community organizations through embedded legal support, policy coalitions, and community education defense workshops.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services for Social Justice

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Independent Educational Consultant Case Management & Service Coordination (EDAKACAO), 504 Plan Consulting & Disability Accommodations (School-Based) (EDAKACAG)

Keywords

• Movement lawyering services
• Education justice advocacy
• Community legal support
• School-to-prison pipeline
• Community education defense

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: C4LL accepts donations through its fiscal sponsor GSAN (Gender and Sexualities Alliance Network). Donors can make recurring (sustainer) or one-time donations through Pledge.to platform and GSAN's CiviCRM system.
2. Fellowship Funding: C4LL hosts Equal Justice Works Fellows who bring dedicated funding for specific projects such as peer education defense network development and youth justice alternatives.
3. Foundation Grants: C4LL receives support from foundations including Weingart Foundation and California Endowment. These grants fund organizational operations and specific programmatic work.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering (C4LL) is a nonprofit legal organization that provides movement lawyering services to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and support transformative education. Its core offerings include embedded legal support within long-term organizing partnerships, facilitation of state-wide and national communities of practice, and cohort-based community education defense workshops. All services are delivered free of charge to grassroots partners and community members.

Product overview

The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering (C4LL) is a nonprofit legal organization that operates as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Their work is organized around three interconnected core services: Organizing-Movement Lawyering Partnerships, Communities of Practice, and Community Education Defense. These services are designed to work collaboratively—embedding legal support within grassroots organizing, facilitating statewide and national movement alignment, and empowering communities through education. The organization contributes to dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline through legal support for community liberation, working in long-term partnerships with base-building organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Organizing-Movement Lawyering Partnerships Core service embedding legal expertise within long-term organizing infrastructure to investigate harms, monitor policy wins, and support parent and youth tracking of racist and ableist school practices through Public Records Act Requests. Designed for grassroots base-building organizations and community partners.
• Communities of Practice Facilitation of state-wide and national multidisciplinary communities including Dignity in Schools Campaign-California, Fix School Discipline Policy Coalition, and Dignity in Schools Campaign National to align movement work and critique legal systems. Designed for organizers, attorneys, and policy advocates working to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline.
• Community Education Defense Cohort-based workshops equipping community members with legal tools to stand up for students' and parents' human rights, covering topics such as expulsions, suspensions, school transfers, and special education through storytelling, role-playing, and dialogue. Designed for families and community members seeking to advocate for their children's education rights.

Quantifiable outcome

• $25 million LA School Police Budget reduction through community organizing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• COPE (Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Partnership began in 2017 after COPE's organizing won school discipline and citation reforms in San Bernardino. C4LL supported organizers in monitoring these victories, creating Public Records Act Requests for community-led investigation, and continuing work toward divestment from criminalization and investment in evidence-based support for Black students in the Inland Empire.
• CADRE (Community Asset Development Re-defining Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMore than decade-long partnership with this South LA grassroots parent organization. CADRE organizes Black and Brown parents with focus on racial solidarity/healing, long-term leadership development, and political education. They have led all major school climate and discipline policy reforms in LAUSD. C4LL grew organically out of this partnership and continues to collaborate on monitoring school climate transformation and policy wins.
• Dignity in Schools Campaign California (DSC-CA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-wide coalition of organizers, attorneys, and policy advocates working to deepen grassroots understanding of school discipline and expand the movement to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. C4LL provides movement lawyering collaboration in three regions: Los Angeles, Inland Valley and Central Valley.
• Fix School Discipline Policy (FSD) CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-disciplinary state-wide coalition anchored by C4LL and other partners. C4LL shares leadership in building solidarity in statewide policy processes. Successfully ended use of suspensions and expulsions for disruption/defiance in California through community-led efforts.
• Dignity in Schools Campaign NationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational coalition challenging pushout in schools and working to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. C4LL participates in this broader network connecting parents, youth, organizers, advocates and educators.
• Central Valley Movement Building (CVMB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional organizing partner in Central Valley. C4LL co-creates Community Education Defense workshops with this organization for the Central Valley region.
• Black Layup / Lay Out H.U.P.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization featured on C4LL's partners page, working at intersection of education justice and community organizing.
• Building Healthy Communities Monterey CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Community Education Defense workshops on the Central Coast region, facilitating cohort-based learning exchanges.
• Arts for Healing and Justice NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner supporting Community Education Defense work in Los Angeles. Equal Justice Works Fellow Jaden Ojeaburu is building peer education defense network in collaboration with this organization.
• Los Angeles Youth Uprising Coalition (LAYUP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition working on youth justice issues in LA County. C4LL connects LAYUP and Police Free LAUSD Coalition leadership through community-based safety approaches, supporting full implementation of Youth Justice Reimagined vision.
• Black Organizing ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member Jackie Byers founded this organization and led historic campaign to remove Oakland Unified School District's police force under the George Floyd Resolution.
• Black Parallel School BoardminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member Carl Pinkston serves as Operational Director. Organization provides training and technical assistance in organizational development and community organizing related to school justice.
• Gender and Sexualities Alliance Network (GSAN)coreOthersC4LL is fiscally sponsored by GSAN, which processes donations and provides administrative infrastructure. Donors are routed to GSAN's website when contributing.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Advancement Project: National racial-justice organization combining legal advocacy, policy, and organizing around school discipline, policing in schools, and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline — closely aligned with C4LL's theory of change and policy targets.
• Public Counsel: Largest pro bono law firm in the U.S. and direct former employer of both C4LL co-founders. Operates a Statewide Education Rights Project that historically combined direct service, movement lawyering, and legislative reform on the same education-justice issues that C4LL now leads.
• National Center for Youth Law: National nonprofit legal organization advancing justice for youth, including school pushout and school-to-prison pipeline work. Comparable in mission overlap and in combining impact litigation, policy advocacy, and movement-lawyering approaches.
• The Education Trust: National education-justice advocacy organization focused on equity, school discipline, and resource allocation — works on overlapping policy issues (discipline reform, equitable school funding) often in coalition with movement-lawyering groups.
• Impact Fund: California-based foundation supporting impact litigation and movement lawyering on civil rights, including education justice. Operates as a funder/incubator rather than a direct legal services provider, but its grantees run the kind of lawyering-and-organizing model C4LL practices.

Direct peers

• Dignity in Schools Campaign (National): C4LL is an active member of this national coalition challenging pushout in schools. Operates as a coalition-of-organizations rather than a direct legal service, but shares the same policy frame, theory of change, and California-state chapter.
• Mental Health Advocacy Services: Co-founder Ruth Cusick's Skadden Fellowship host; serves students with trauma histories who are criminalized and pushed out of schools — the same population and legal frame that C4LL centers in its movement-lawyering practice.

Others

• Equal Justice Works: Fellowship sponsor for C4LL's Jaden Ojeaburu, funding movement-lawyering fellows at community organizations across the country — comparable ecosystem participant that backs organizations running the same model.

Regional players

• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project: Co-founder Ashleigh Washington's prior employer. Regional legal-aid organization combining direct representation, movement-lawyering partnerships, and policy advocacy — same operational style though different substantive focus.
• Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Fernando Valley: California-based legal-aid and civil-rights organization working on education equity and policing issues, with similar movement-lawyering orientation and shared funder ecosystem (California foundations).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-collective-for-liberatory-lawyering

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering