The Mass Defense Committee (MDC) of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is proud to stand in solidarity with Brigada Legal Solidaria and to celebrate this inspiring group of lawyers and legal workers in Puerto Rico as they receive the NLG’s Arthur Kinoy Award at the 2019 #Law4thePeople Convention. Brigada Legal Solidaria was founded in 2017 […]
Contact: communications@nlg.org The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) congratulates the people of Puerto Rico at this unprecedented moment in the nation’s history. The Puerto Rican people, led by its youth, are standing up for themselves with dignity. In an unstoppable demonstration of people power, they tossed out the political elite administrators of the colony, after not-so-secret […]
REGISTER NOW! bit.ly/globalrepressionwebinar As colonialist regimes gain power across the globe, we have seen more people speaking out against white supremacist and fascist rhetoric and policies as well as an increased attack on dissent, particularly on human rights defenders from economically poor communities of color. Movements to challenge and defeat racism, colonialism, state violence, and […]
May 10, 2018 Contact: Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan, NLG President president@nlg.org NEW YORK—The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) joins the Puerto Rican civil rights and legal communities in condemning the actions of law enforcement and the Puerto Rico Department of Justice (PRDOJ), in response to their ongoing persecution and intimidation of human rights lawyers and activists. […]
Following years of colonialism and the intensified assault of austerity in the past several years, Puerto Rico is suffering from the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria and the massive impact of climate change. As the National Lawyers Guild International Committee, we demand the immediate cancellation of Puerto Rico’s debt. We also join the many calls […]
(Above, L-R: Oscar López Rivera with atty. Jan Susler; Portrait of Chelsea Manning by Alicia Neal.) The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is thrilled to learn of the commutations of the sentences of Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera and Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, a victory due largely to the unwavering efforts of determined activists, […]
On June 20, 2016, NLG Puerto Rico Subcommittee Co-Chair Jan Susler made the presentation to the United Nations Decolonization Committee on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild, and NLG President Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan presented on behaf of LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “We hope [the presentation] will be useful in educating our membership on what’s happening with […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: communications@nlg.org NEW YORK — It is with the greatest sadness that we share the news that our comrade, friend, and past NLG President Michael Ratner died yesterday afternoon at the age of 72. Michael was a true revolutionary lawyer. He embodied the spirit of the Guild’s founders who believed that the […]
“La lucha sin amor se muere.” (Struggle, without love, will die). These are the words of Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera during my visit to see him in federal prison in November. I spent an afternoon with him, along with his lawyer and Guild attorney Jan Susler and Juan Cartagena, President of LatinoJustice […]
