Social Justice Lawyering: LGBT Justice Strategies | 06/05/2025
In this episode of Sustained, Professor Jared Trujillo moderates a heartfelt and urgent conversation with Elana Redfield ’08, Milo Primeaux ’13, and Amy Leipziger ’07 on LGBTQ justice and the state of queer and trans rights under the current political climate. They explore how LGBTQ lawyers are navigating legal pushback, policy-level erasure, and community-level lawyering. From federal research to community-based services for immigrant youth, the panelists share real-world grassroots strategies for resisting injustice that continue to center resilience and collective liberation, staying grounded and leading with empathy.
Moderator
Professor Jared Trujillo
Featured Speakers
Elana Redfield ’08 – Federal Policy Director, Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law
Milo Primeaux ’13 – Founder, Just Roots Consulting
Amy Leipziger ’07 – Project Director, Free to Be Youth Project, Urban Justice Center
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.
Go inside the conversations, classrooms, and collective efforts happening at CUNY Law with Sustained, a series about how lawyers, organizers, and communities are carrying social justice advocacy forward—not for a moment, but with the movements.
