Legal Observers® are the “eyes and ears” of the legal team. They create documentation during events which can later be use in defense cases, public statements, and litigation which aims to hold law enforcement agencies accountable for the actions of their officers.

FAQ

History of Legal Observing

The idea of community members watching law enforcement officers through organized patrols originates from the Black Power Movement. According to the NYC-based Justice Committee, the practice was started by the Black Panther Party in 1966. The Black Panthers conducted armed citizens’ patrols in order to monitor the behavior of law enforcement officers in the Oakland Police Department. This practice later became known as copwatch. Many local activist organizations continue to copwatch today.

The National Lawyers Guild, as the first integrated bar association in the U.S., took components from this practice and developed its Legal Observer® Program in 1968 in New York City in response to protests at Columbia University and city-wide antiwar and racial justice demonstrations. You may read more about NLG’s history in mass defense work here.

Today, legal observing is a distinct practice from copwatch. Legal observing acts as a direct form of protester legal support, connecting activists to a much bigger support infrastructure made up of arrest hotlines, jail support teams, community bail funds and legal defense funds, attorney referral networks, and more.

FAQ

Our Legal Observer® Program is one of the most well-known activist support services of the Guild. Legal Observers® are volunteers trained by the National Lawyers Guild who shows up at protests, marches or other actions to:

Monitor, observe, and document government conduct against First Amendment-protected activity,
Provide arrest support for protesters on the ground and help support teams track and help arrested folks, and
Empower activists and serve as a deterrent to unconstitutional behavior by law enforcement

Legal Observers® are one piece of a larger system of legal support infrastructure working to provide activists with the tools and confidence they need to make their voices heard. Official Programs provide their Legal Observers® with neon-green, trademarked hats, which have become a symbol of legal support for progressive movements in the United States and beyond.

The National Lawyers Guild is a progressive organization that opposes racism, sexism, classism, fascism, heteropatriarchy and transphobia. We will only show up to actions and in support of movements that directly align with our values.

However, the Guild recognizes that the criminal-legal system is a racist, traumatizing, and oppressive structure. In some instances, communities do not want liberation spaces to be taken up by those working within the criminal-legal system, even when acting as legal support on behalf of activists. Therefore, we will not show up to actions unless we are specifically requested by organizers.

We have several local chapters all around the country, and each local chapter has its own system for activists and community groups to submit requests. This may occur through an online form, direct asks to an individual LO in the local chapter, or other means. Visit our chapter page to find a chapter near you in order to request Legal Observers®.

Legal Observers® are often legal workers, law students, and lawyers, but anyone who is able to perform the duties and uphold the values of the National Lawyers Guild can be a Legal Observer®, including organizers, activists, and community members. A significant amount of mass defense work can be done without a law degree, and it is vital for folks who are the targets of systemic oppression, especially at the hands of the state and legal system, to be the ones deciding what their local mass defense programs should look like.

We expect our Legal Observers® to constantly educate themselves and engage in anti-repression work, to be aware of their racial, gender, class, and other privileges especially when conducting themselves in movement spaces, and not replicate the very same injustices we are fighting against. See our Mass Defense Resources for more information.

Since Programs are run by local NLG chapters, the first step is to reach out to your nearest chapter to inquire about getting trained to become a Legal Observer®. Law school students and student organizations should also reach out to their nearest chapter in order to schedule trainings. Different chapters may have different application processes.

Regardless of local processes, all chapters will require that prospective Legal Observer® go through their training. These trainings are held several times a year in various locations around the country. Local chapters host and run their own trainings, and larger regional trainings take place as well as well. Generally, before someone can train to become a Legal Observer®, they must also go through vetting processes and confidentiality agreements, but this will vary based on the local chapters.

Once a person has (1) completed vetting and confidentiality requirements, (2) gone through a Legal Observer® training, and (3) plugged into the local infrastructure, they are ready to start legal observing!

If there are no chapters near you, contact the Mass Defense Program at massdef@nlg.org.

If you need support starting your own Program, contact the National Office’s Mass Defense Program, at massdef@nlg.org. Alternatively, reach out to a nearby chapter for support.

This is not recommended by the NLG, because it can be dangerous to Legal Observe by yourself. The best practice is to use a buddy system on the ground. In addition, without a local chapter, you might be more vulnerable and your presence could cause confusion among organizers and activists. Consider starting your own local Program!

Alternatively, there are many ways NLG members working outside of a Legal Observer® Program can support organizers, including attorney interviewing and coordination, fundraising support, jail support, providing resources and nourishment, and so much more.

Individual chapters will vary on this question, so the answer will depend on the location to which you have relocated. Smaller chapters tend to take previously trained LOs with fewer requirements, particularly since local trainings are sparser. Larger chapters, which are usually in larger cities with more militarized and larger police forces, may require LOs who are new to the location to take the local training, which large chapters tend to have more capacity to facilitate more regularly.

To find out the specific answer as to training requirements in your area, contact your local chapter.

There may be others we can connect you with to help fill this gap! Please contact the National Office’s Education Program at education@nlg.org for support in this situation.

Because of the nature of law school chapters, student turnaround, and summer breaks, we do not recommend chapters to be “housed” at law schools. Building up a local chapter might be the best option, for short- and long-term movement needs!

If you need Legal Observers®, but there is no chapter or law school near you, reach out to the National Office’s Mass Defense Program at massdef@nlg.org. The Mass Defense Program can see if there are individual members near you that can help locally.

We also highly encourage people who desire Legal Observers® in places where there are no chapters to come together to create a chapter, and thus get support from the NLG National Office to start their own Programs. Attorneys and non-attorneys alike can form a chapter! If you are interested in forming a new chapter, reach out to the National Office’s Membership Program at membership@nlg.org.

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