Our latest accomplishments


Lawsuit Against Boston Public Schools For Discrimination →

Education, Employment
Advocate for English Language Learners Sues Boston Public Schools For Discrimination, Retaliation Long-Time Employee Forced Out After Objecting To BPS’s Mistreatment of English Language Learners Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) and Pontikes Law, LLC, filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court on behalf of Ms. Aketa Narang Kapur, alleging discriminatory and retaliatory treatment by Boston...

TPS Can Alleviate Impacts of Migrant Crisis →

Race and Climate
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST EXPAND HUMANITARIAN PROTECTIONS TO RECOGNIZE DANGERS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND CLIMATE CHANGE Expanding Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Can Alleviate Impacts of Migrant Crisis   Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) called on the federal government to expand humanitarian protection to additional countries where gender-based violence and climate change are preventing...

Navigating the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) →

BizGrow, Economic Justice
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a new law in effect starting in 2024 that requires most small businesses to fill out additional forms. Not complying can have serious monetary and criminal consequences. Check out our easy to use guide to learn what and how your business can comply with this important new law.  We...

BizGrow Expands Technical Assistance Services →

BizGrow
BizGrow Expands Technical Assistance Services Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) announced the expansion of BizGrow’s technical assistance services. LCR’s small business project, BizGrow, provides free legal assistance, business support, and technical assistance to minority, immigrant, and women business owners ensuring that they encounter fewer obstacles and more opportunities.  BizGrow’s latest initiative, Elevate,...

Equitable East Boston Greenway →

Race and Climate
Lawyers for Civil Rights and GreenRoots made recommendations to the City of Boston for the renovation and improvement of the City-owned section of the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway (“The Greenway”) in East Boston. The Greenway is a major community asset, and with improvements it can become a crown jewel spurring recreational, cultural, and economic...

Making Room for Locally-Owned Businesses at Faneuil Hall →

BizGrow, Economic Justice
Lawyers for Civil Rights has sent an open letter to the new owners of Faneuil Hall outlining concrete strategies for revitalizing the marketplace by intentionally and deliberately focusing on the expansion of locally-owned, minority-owned, immigrant-owned, and women-owned businesses. We also crafted creative suggestions to help activate and elevate the marketplace. In the coming...

Statement on Attorney General’s Lawsuit Against Milton →

Housing, Racial Justice
Lawyers for Civil Rights Commends Attorney General Campbell’s Swift Action to Hold Milton Accountable for Violating the MBTA Zoning Law Attorney General Andrea Campbell has sued the Town of Milton for its failure to comply with the MBTA Zoning Law. Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) applauds this enforcement action, which comes at...

20 Landlords and Brokers Sued for Housing Discrimination in Boston  →

Housing
As Affordable Housing Crisis Devastates Low-Income Communities, Lawsuit Challenges Housing Providers That Refuse to Rent to Subsidized Housing Recipients In a mammoth new lawsuit filed today, Housing Rights Initiative (“HRI”), a non-profit housing watchdog group, simultaneously sued twenty Boston-area landlords and real estate brokers, challenging pervasive discrimination against low-income tenants. The groundbreaking...

Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System →

Racial Justice
Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) and McCarter & English filed an amicus brief in a case pending before the Massachusetts Court of Appeal, which raises important issues about bias in the criminal justice system. The brief was filed on behalf of LCR, the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (MAHA), the Jewish Alliance For Law...

No Path to Justice for Victims of Discrimination in the MCAD  →

Employment, Housing, Racial Justice
No Path to Justice for Victims of Discrimination in the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination  Escalating long-simmering concerns over deficiencies at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (“MCAD”), the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (“ULEM”) and Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) have issued a demand letter calling on the agency to take immediate action to adequately...

Condemning Result of Milton Zoning Referendum  →

Housing
Statement Condemning Result of Milton Zoning Referendum  Milton Has Decided to Defy the MBTA Zoning Law, Now the Attorney General Must Hold the Town Accountable Milton residents voted down critical zoning changes that would have allowed for more multi-family housing development within the Town’s borders. As a result, Milton now joins Holden...

Settlement Reached in Arlington Racial Profiling Case →

Police Accountability, Racial Justice
Settlement Reached in Racial Profiling Case Filed By Young Black Man Against Arlington, MA Police  Town Agrees To Systemic Reforms And Compensation  Donovan Johnson, a young Black man who was stopped, held at gunpoint, and thrown to the ground by police in Arlington, Massachusetts who were chasing a white suspect, has settled...

Middlesex County DA Supports Children of Missing Migrant Woman →

Immigrant Rights
Middlesex County District Attorney Provides Critical Support To Children Of Missing East Boston Immigrant Woman Children of Reina Carolina Morales Rojas Apply for Humanitarian Immigration Relief Providing critical support to the children of a woman missing since November 2022, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan has provided U Visa certifications that will allow...

Cambridge Must Dismantle Racial Disparities in Public Contracts →

BizGrow, Economic Justice
Alarming Statistics Show “Old Boys Network” Freezing out Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses in City’s Contracting Process In an open letter, Lawyers for Civil Rights called upon the City of Cambridge to take significant and aggressive steps to ensure greater participation of Minority- and Women- Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) in its public...

Mobile Home Residents Demand Justice →

Housing
Exploited Mobile Home Residents Demand Justice in Central Massachusetts Cease-and-Desist Letter Issued to Landlord Following Exorbitant Rent Increases, Dangerous and Unsanitary Conditions  Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) issued a cease-and-desist letter to the landlord of two mobile home parks in Auburn, MA, demanding a halt to illegal and exorbitant rent...

Business Diversity Principles Need Federal Implementation and Oversight →

BizGrow
Federal Government’s Business Diversity Principles Need Robust Implementation Guidance and Oversight Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) filed a comment with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) on its proposed Business Diversity Principles. In the current climate, as DEIA efforts are threatened, it is critical to expand the federal government’s efforts to eradicate inequity in the workplace....

Boston Can’t Fix the Housing Crisis Alone →

Housing
Boston Can’t Fix the Housing Crisis Alone—the Commonwealth Must Enforce its MBTA Zoning Law Lawyers for Civil Rights Applauds Mayor Wu’s Housing Efforts, But More is Needed Across the Commonwealth to Combat the Affordable Housing Crisis Boston Mayor Michelle Wu delivered her second state of the city address. In it,...

Victory! Federal Appeals Court Upholds Boston’s Exam School Admissions Policy →

Education
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS BOSTON’S EXAM SCHOOL ADMISSIONS POLICY Multi-Racial Coalition That Intervened In Lawsuit To Support Plan Applauds Ruling In a unanimous decision issued yesterday, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the exam school admissions policy used by Boston Public Schools for the 2021-2022 school year did...