Social Justice Lawyering Strategies: LGBTQ+ Justice

Key Takeaways

• Legal Retrenchment is Real and Rising – Panelists emphasized that we are in a period of "retrenchment" where LGBTQ rights are being rolled back through legislation, censorship, and criminalization—particularly targeting trans individuals.
• Resilience is More than Survival—It’s Strategy – The conversation emphasized that LGBTQ communities—especially youth—are not just surviving hostile times, but finding strength in joy, community, and resistance.
• Federal Policy is Undermining Lived Experience – Recent federal reports on gender-affirming care disregard subjective accounts from trans people, reflecting a dangerous shift away from empathy-based policy to "objective" data that silences lived realities.
• Legal Advocacy Requires Creativity and Flexibility – Traditional legal paths aren’t always effective. Panelists discussed thinking “outside the legal box” and blending litigation, policy advocacy, and grassroots organizing to protect clients.
• Legal Flashpoints Include Health Care, Identity, and Parental Rights – Legislation and court rulings are increasingly targeting medical professionals, families, and trans adults—marking an escalation in legal repression strategies.
• Solidarity Over Identity-Only Lawyering – Elana Redfield advocated for "solidarity-based lawyering," emphasizing the importance of intersectionality, coalition building, and understanding broader systems like housing and food insecurity.
• History as Compass – Referencing moments like Stonewall, panelists framed current activism as part of a continuum of queer resistance—reminding us that coalition-based movements have always been essential.
• Community is the Antidote to Burnout – Milo Primeaux emphasized that hyperlocal community engagement, creativity (through music, nature, and art), and co-regulation are crucial to long-term sustainability in social justice work.
• Law in the Service of Human Needs is a Lifelong Practice – CUNY Law’s mission continues to anchor graduates in justice-centered work, showing that legal education grounded in social change can yield impactful, lifelong careers.