• The Palestine Legal Attorney Network is a network of attorneys, law students, and legal workers who are committed to bolstering the Palestine solidarity movement in the U.S. by challenging efforts to threaten, harass, and legally bully activists into silence and inaction. (Note: Members are not employed by or representatives of Palestine Legal.)

• In partnership with members of the Attorney Network, Palestine Legal connects individuals and groups facing anti-Palestinian racism or repression for their Palestine advocacy with legal help.

• Palestine Legal facilitates the network and connects members to peer mentorship and resources. The Network is grounded in Palestine Legal's values and a movement lawyering approach to supporting activists.

• The Attorney Network aims to strengthen the legal infrastructure available to those organizing for Palestine by connecting Palestine activists with legal support. The Network is focused on growing the number of attorneys who are equipped to provide that support by offering training, resources, peer mentorship, and opportunities to build experience and hone strategies

Those who are organizing for Palestine in the United States are facing more pressure than ever. Students, student organizations, teachers, employees, activists, grassroots organizations, and so many others are being punished for speaking out in support of Palestinian freedom. As a Network member, you fortify the legal backbone for the Palestine solidarity movement here in the U.S.

To apply to join the Palestine Legal Attorney Network, please fill out our brief application form. Once we receive your response, we will reach out to discuss your interest, experience, and availability, as well as our Attorney Network agreements.

As a member of Palestine Legal’s Attorney Network, you agree that:

• You will respond in a timely manner to individuals who reach out to you through the Attorney Network, even if that response is to let them know that you are unable to assist them.

• If you are able to provide an initial legal consultation with an individual who reaches out to you, we expect this initial consultation to be pro bono.

• In making referrals, Palestine Legal is not forming any attorney-client relationship with the individual seeking legal support or assuming responsibility for your relationship with individuals who reach out to you through the Attorney Network.

• You will treat people referred to you through the Palestine Legal Attorney Network in a respectful, empathetic, and principled manner, in accordance with Palestine Legal’s Values and the ethical obligations of the legal profession, particularly around confidentiality, competence,  and communication.

• We ask that attorneys in the Palestine Legal Attorney Network talk to potential clients and walk them through what options, legal and otherwise, may be available to address their situation.

• In general, we do not screen individuals or their requests for legal support beyond assessing that the ask on its face is connected to Palestine-related advocacy or expression. This means people connected to you through the Palestine Legal Attorney Network may not have timely or well-supported legal claims, may not be politically aligned, or may be reaching out regarding an issue that does not actually relate to Palestine advocacy.  We encourage you to exercise your personal and professional judgment in deciding whether to provide legal information or support to a particular individual.

• While we will try to refer clients whose issues align with your areas of interest, if a client is dealing with matters outside of your expertise that you cannot assist with, we ask that you inform the client that you are unable to take their case and, if possible, let us know and/or direct them to relevant referrals or other resources.

No. Palestine Legal does not provide malpractice insurance to Attorney Network members. Please ensure that your participation in our Network complies with your applicable state laws and professional responsibility rules, including related to malpractice insurance. If this is an issue for you, please reach out to us to discuss resources and/or other options.

Yes! We understand that there are many attorneys and legal workers with skills and knowledge to contribute to this work who, for any number of reasons, cannot provide direct legal representation. While our top priority is to connect attorneys with clients seeking legal counsel, there are ways to utilize the skills of attorneys and legal workers who cannot do so, such as by setting up structures for them to provide mentorship, support, and coordination.

The number of referrals you may receive as part of your involvement with the Palestine Legal Attorney Network will vary depending on your availability, location, areas of expertise, the number of other Attorney Network attorneys in your region, and legal needs. If you find you are receiving too many requests for consultations or if you have more availability and would like to take on more, please contact us and we can adjust accordingly.

• We expect all Network attorneys to provide a free initial consultation to clients, and we will prioritize placing referrals with attorneys who can provide low or no-cost legal representation.

• Palestine Legal's preference is that Network attorneys provide pro bono representation or receive fees on a contingency basis at no direct cost to the client. Many clients cannot pay, and even if they have means, we seek to avoid the chilling notion (produced by the one of the aims and impacts of Zionist lawfare) that there is a financial cost to speaking out for Palestinian freedom.

• We request that any attorneys charging fees, whether “low bono,” contingency, or other, provide an agreement with clear payment terms and maximum transparency so clients understand the fees, know what level of services and attention they will receive, and have a basis for assessing how the rates and services offered compare to other available options. 

Yes! We encourage you to speak about your work with the Palestine Legal Attorney Network, and to recommend that your colleagues and attorneys in your personal and professional networks consider joining the Attorney Network as well. Feel free to share that you are an independent member of the Palestine Legal Attorney Network, a broad group of attorneys supporting the movement for Palestinian rights. Please note, however, that joining the Attorney Network does not mean that Palestine Legal has otherwise endorsed or partnered with you or your firm, and any public statements about your membership in the Attorney Network should not misrepresent the involvement of Palestine Legal or the Attorney Network with you or your firm or in cases that are referred to you by Palestine Legal.

• As we grow our Attorney Network, Palestine Legal is expanding our resources for training, strategy guidance, and other support for attorneys within the Attorney Network. We regularly host virtual attorney roundtables, trainings, and strategy sessions. We encourage members to reach out to us with questions and asks, and we will try to either provide strategic support or direct you to other members or partners who can.

• Palestine Legal is also working to assemble a collection of resources and legal document templates that are available to members of the Attorney Network. We encourage members to share resources and filings with us when possible so that we can make them available to the wider network.

• Palestine Legal does not currently have any mechanism in place for providing financial support for legal cases.

We are interested in providing more training and shadowing opportunities for new attorneys, as well as for experienced attorneys interested in learning more about the issue-areas that we typically work on. We are hoping to build out these opportunities as we grow. If you are interested in mentoring or being mentored in a particular area, please let us know.

We are working to build out our network infrastructure and resources and will be updating this FAQ as we do!