ADVOCATING FOR EQUITY THROUGH PRO BONO AND PUBLIC SERVICE
As part of our continuing efforts to advance the causes of racial equity and justice, in 2020, Crowell & Moring launched a Racial Justice Pro Bono Task Force, and we pledged to provide $1 million in pro bono legal services in 2021 to cases and causes that combat systemic racism in the United States. This pledge strengthens and furthers the firm’s historical commitment to pro bono in the areas of racial justice, representation, equity, and inclusion. Recent examples of Crowell & Moring’s social justice-focused pro bono work on voting rights issues include: • Alabama, et al., vs. Alabama State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, et al. Partner Keith J. Harrison is leading a firm team representing the Alabama NAACP in litigation seeking to prove that at-large judicial elections in Alabama violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting the
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2020 Diversity & Inclusion Report
voting power of African American citizens. The case raises a multitude of weighty issues, including the application of Section 2 to judicial elections; whether the Voting Rights Act abrogates state sovereign immunity; and the extent of Congress’ powers under the Reconstruction Amendments. In February 2020, the 11th Circuit ruled that private plaintiffs may continue to bring suits against states under the VRA, joining the 5th and 6th Circuits in holding that individuals and organizations can sue states in federal court when they racially discriminate against voters. • More than 30 Crowell & Moring lawyers and professional staff served as volunteers with the Election Protection Hotline, the largest nonpartisan election protection hotline in the United States. • Over a dozen firm attorneys worked with The Advancement Project, serving as Rapid
