Southern Legal Counsel

What Southern Legal Counsel does

Southern Legal Counsel is a Florida statewide nonprofit public interest law firm founded in 1977 and headquartered in Gainesville. It provides free civil legal representation primarily to low-income individuals and families on matters including special education advocacy, disability rights, LGBTQ+ equality, the rights of people experiencing homelessness, and other civil rights issues. The organization operates through formal programs — the Transgender Rights Initiative (founded 2017), the Education Advocacy Project, a Pro Bono Program launched in 2019, and a series of legal clinics — and complements direct representation with self-help resources including FloridaNameChange.org (county-by-county guidance on legal name and gender-marker changes) and FLDLCheck.com (a driver's license suspension eligibility tool). SLC employs roughly 10–20 attorneys and engages more than 300 pro bono volunteers who contributed about 9,000 hours in the program's first two years.

SLC's business model is grant-funded rather than fee-based. The firm receives no governmental funding, a deliberate structural choice that preserves independence to litigate against government defendants. The largest disclosed revenue stream, IOTA grants through Funding Florida Legal Aid, grew from $506,784 in 2024 to $1,315,138 in 2025. Additional funding comes from The Florida Bar Foundation, Impact Fund, Dharma Foundation, individual donations, and pro bono partnerships with firms such as Akerman LLP and McDermott Will & Emery. The firm is governed by a board chaired by Gabriela Ruiz and led by Executive Director Jodi Siegel, who has held the role since 2004.

SLC has established a track record of precedent-setting litigation, including cases challenging the criminalization of homelessness, Florida's restrictions on gender-affirming care, and unlawful driver's license suspensions. It regularly co-counsels with national and regional organizations including ACLU of Florida, Lambda Legal, Southern Poverty Law Center, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the National Homelessness Law Center, and Florida Justice Institute. In 2026, SLC extended its advocacy beyond Florida by filing an amicus brief in Comité Diálogo Ambiental v. FEMA alongside LatinoJustice PRLDEF and ACLU of Puerto Rico.

Name

Southern Legal Counsel

Legal name

Southern Legal Counsel, Inc.

Website

https://southernlegal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Southern Legal Counsel is a Florida statewide 501(c)(3) public interest law firm founded in 1977 that provides free civil legal representation to low-income individuals on education, disability, LGBTQ+ equality, homelessness, and civil rights matters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Interest Legal Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC), Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

Keywords

• Civil legal services
• Public interest law
• Disability rights advocacy
• Transgender rights advocacy
• Special education advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Gainesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Foundation Funding: SLC receives funding from various foundations including The Florida Bar Foundation, Impact Fund, and others. Funding increased significantly with IOTA grants from Funding Florida Legal Aid doubling from $506,784 in 2024 to $1,315,138 in 2025.
2. Individual Donations: SLC accepts donations from individuals through their website giving page to support their mission of providing civil legal assistance to those in need.
3. Corporate/Foundation Grants: Support from organizations such as Impact Fund, Florida Justice Institute, and various other foundations supporting civil rights work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Southern Legal Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm that provides free civil legal representation to low-income individuals and vulnerable communities across Florida. Its practice areas include education advocacy for children with disabilities, LGBTQ+ equality, decriminalizing poverty, healthcare access, and protection of civil rights, supported by statewide litigation, self-help resources, and a pro bono volunteer network.

Product overview

Southern Legal Counsel is a unified non-profit public interest law firm that provides civil legal services for low-income individuals in Florida. The organization offers direct legal representation alongside specialized programs including the Transgender Rights Initiative, Education Advocacy Project, and Pro Bono Program. Services include legal clinics, community outreach, and self-help resources such as FloridaNameChange.org and the Driver's License Assistance Program. These offerings work together to address civil legal needs across education advocacy, disability rights, LGBTQ+ equality, homelessness, healthcare access, and consumer protection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Transgender Rights Initiative: A program developed in 2017 to provide assistance to the transgender community in Florida in areas such as access to legal name and gender marker changes, obtaining accurate IDs, protection from discriminatory laws and policies, and representation in accessing safe and affirming school and work environments.

Products and services

• Legal Representation Free civil legal representation in matters including education advocacy for children with disabilities, disability rights, LGBTQ+ equality, rights of people experiencing homelessness, and other civil rights. Services are delivered to low-income individuals across Florida.
• Transgender Rights Initiative Systematic legal assistance for transgender adults in Florida covering identity document changes, healthcare access, public benefits, and representation in safe and affirming school and work environments. Includes leading federal lawsuits challenging discriminatory state laws.
• Education Advocacy Project Statewide support, training, mentorship, and co-counsel for legal aid lawyers and advocates to increase and improve special education advocacy for children with disabilities, including assistance in 26 counties during the 2024-25 school year.
• Pro Bono Program Formal pro bono program connecting volunteer attorneys with low-income Floridians through co-counseling on high-impact systems-changing litigation and limited-scope representation on individual matters, engaging more than 300 volunteers and approximately 9,000 hours of service in the first two years.
• Legal Clinics In-person and virtual clinics on special education issues, obtaining legal name and gender marker changes, and general legal assistance for homeless individuals, run with pro bono volunteers.
• FloridaNameChange.org Public website providing step-by-step, county-by-county guidance for updating legal names and gender markers on IDs in Florida, available to all Floridians regardless of gender identity.
• Driver's License Assistance Program (FLDL Check) Web-based tool (FLDLCheck.com) and accompanying legal assistance to help individuals determine whether their Florida driver's license was unlawfully suspended for unpaid fees, fines, and court costs related to ordinance violations, together with representation to clear unlawful suspensions.
• UF Healthy Kids Medical Legal Partnership Medical-legal partnership with UF Health's Pediatric Endocrinology and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology divisions to identify and address health-harming legal needs of patients and families.
• Community Outreach and Presentations Educational presentations on navigating special education processes, changing name and gender markers on IDs, driver's license suspensions, and LGBTQ+ cultural competency, provided to community groups and individuals across Florida.

Quantifiable outcome

• 82 families assisted in 26 counties during 2024-25 school year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• LatinoJustice PRLDEFcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2026SLC and LatinoJustice PRLDEF filed an amicus curiae brief together in Comité Diálogo Ambiental v. FEMA, a case challenging FEMA's environmental assessments for rebuilding Puerto Rico's energy infrastructure. The partnership involves joint advocacy on civil rights and environmental justice issues.
• American Civil Liberties Union of Puerto RicocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2026SLC partnered with ACLU of Puerto Rico to file amicus curiae brief in Comité Diálogo Ambiental v. FEMA, working together on environmental justice advocacy.
• Florida Justice Institute (FJI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026SLC and FJI co-litigated cases challenging panhandling ordinances across Florida, including LaValley et al. v. St. Johns County. They have a long history of working together on civil rights litigation.
• NAACP Legal Defense FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 September 2022SLC led a lawsuit with co-counsel from SPLC and NAACP Legal Defense Fund against Pasco County Sheriff's Office over predictive policing program records.
• Florida Health Justice ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2022SLC partnered with Florida Health Justice Project, Lambda Legal, and National Health Law Program to challenge Florida's ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender individuals.
• Lambda LegalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2022SLC works with Lambda Legal on litigation challenging discriminatory laws and policies targeting LGBTQ+ individuals in Florida.
• National Health Law ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2022SLC partners with National Health Law Program on healthcare access issues affecting vulnerable populations including transgender individuals.
• Equality FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2020SLC partnered with Equality Florida to engage with all 67 Florida school districts to educate leadership, personnel, students and parents on LGBTQ+ rights.
• ACLU of FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSLC frequently partners with ACLU of Florida on litigation challenging unconstitutional ordinances criminalizing homelessness and protecting civil rights.
• National Homelessness Law CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSLC works with the National Homelessness Law Center on litigation and advocacy to abolish unlawful practices that punish poverty and homelessness.
• Southern Poverty Law CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSLC partnered with SPLC on advocacy against criminalization of homelessness, including sending letters to public officials in 21 cities and counties.
• Legal Services of Greater MiamicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSLC partnered with Legal Services of Greater Miami on litigation challenging Miami's practice of destroying property of people experiencing homelessness.
• Akerman LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAkerman LLP has been a key pro bono partner with approximately 30 attorneys volunteering with SLC over two years. They received SLC's Access Justice Impact Award.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lambda Legal: National LGBTQ+ civil rights legal organization that co-litigates with SLC on transgender rights cases including challenges to Florida's gender-affirming care ban. Direct collaborator on overlapping mission.
• Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida: Central Florida legal aid provider whose former Managing Attorney (Roberto Cruz) recently joined SLC. Direct competitor in the same Florida legal aid ecosystem serving low-income clients.
• Florida Rural Legal Services: Statewide Florida legal aid program whose former Director of Farmworkers Advocacy (Roberto Cruz) joined SLC. Comparable legal aid mission and Florida statewide service territory.
• Disability Rights Florida: Florida's designated protection and advocacy organization for people with disabilities. Overlaps directly with SLC's disability rights and special education advocacy work.
• National Homelessness Law Center: National advocacy organization partnering with SLC on homelessness decriminalization litigation. Direct co-counsel on cases challenging ordinances criminalizing poverty in Florida.
• Legal Services of Greater Miami: Florida legal aid organization that partners with SLC on litigation challenging Miami's destruction of homeless individuals' property. Comparable legal aid mission serving low-income populations in Florida.
• Florida Justice Institute: Florida-based nonprofit public interest law firm that co-litigates with SLC on civil rights matters including panhandling ordinances (LaValley v. St. Johns County). Operates in the same statewide impact-litigation model serving vulnerable Floridians.

Broad incumbents

• ACLU of Florida: Larger Florida affiliate of the national ACLU that regularly partners with SLC on civil rights litigation. Broader civil liberties mandate but overlapping case docket.
• Southern Poverty Law Center: National civil rights organization that co-counsels with SLC on homelessness criminalization advocacy and predictive policing litigation. Larger scope and resources but aligned mission.
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund: National civil rights law firm that served as co-counsel with SLC and SPLC in Pasco County predictive policing lawsuit. Operates at national scale with similar impact-litigation model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/southernlegal
• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthernLegalCounsel
• Instagraminstagram.com/p/DCKR4aTtMqE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-legal-counsel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Southern Legal Counsel