Strategic litigation: A guide for legal action
Explore what strategic litigation is, what it can do, and how, when, and where it can be used
Strategic litigation: A guide for legal action
Defined as the “process of bringing or defending a lawsuit in a court of law”, litigation can be a powerful tool in the fight for racial, social, and economic justice. Litigation involves various stages, some more well-known than others, and has many different applications to bring about systemic change.
Understanding what strategic litigation is, what it can do, and how, when, and where it can be used are some of the key considerations to have in mind when thinking about the role it can play in pushing for racial, social, and economic justice.
This guide will walk you through these essential components of strategic litigation and what it can do for your campaign for change, both inside and outside of the courts.
By breaking down the essential components of the litigation process, the guide provides a fuller picture of the myriad of ways in which legal action can be taken.
Beyond the courtroom, there are many different ways to engage with strategic litigation. An introductory understanding of litigation and its applications can be useful to bring legal analysis into advocacy and campaigning work, engage with legal developments, bolster activism efforts, and strengthen participation in public debate. Through concrete, real-world examples, this guide aims to illustrate some of the ways in which strategic litigation can serve your cause.
The guide won’t outline strategic litigation through an academic lens, or with complex legal analysis. Instead, you’ll find a resource rich in practical applications from real cases, illustrating the many legal strategies serving campaigns for change around the world. We’ve prioritised clarity and accessibility with this easy-to-use tool that brings you different uses of strategic litigation to support the fight for racial, social, and economic justice.
Available as a podcast
More resources
Words for justice: A glossary of essential legal terms
Legal terminology can often feel like a language of its own. This glossary aims to provide common definitions for a shared understanding of legal terminology and its meaning. Rather than a regular A-Z glossary, this resource is divided into sections, with each section looking at a specific aspect of the litigation process.
How can we use the courts: A conversation starter
This is a simple worksheet to help communities work through some of the baseline questions that come up when deciding if and how litigation can play a role in their campaigns for change, and what the opportunities and risks to consider may be.