In this blog, we review five things campaigners should do before they use the law in their campaign, and share how SMK’s Using the Law workshop can help begin this step.
Summary: In order to start a legal campaign, research how the law can help you, find the right professional legal support, choose the right option, plan for best and worst case scenarios, and join forces with communities and charities fighting for the same cause. All of this is taught in SMK’s Using the Law (Legislation and Litigation) to Achieve Change workshop.
When you’re new to campaigning, there’s a lot to get your head around. How do you build support for an issue? How do you get people involved? How do you influence decision-makers? How do you get your issue in the news?
One answer to all of these: using the law.
For many campaigners, the legal system can feel like something that belongs to lawyers and legal teams, but the law can actually be a useful tool for campaigners too. You don’t need to be a lawyer to start thinking about how it could help your campaign.
That’s the idea behind our workshop, Using the Law (Legislation and Litigation) to Achieve Change, led by expert lawyer and campaigner Shauneen Lambe.
The workshop looks at the different ways campaigners can start their journey into legal campaigns. Here’s the first five steps:
1. Start with the change you want to see.
Before thinking about taking legal action, you need to understand the problem you’re trying to change and what you ultimately want to be different. That will guide your research into what law needs to be changed or created.
2. Find the people who can help.
You don’t have to figure it all out yourself. Legal campaigns can involve lawyers, campaigners, people directly affected by an issue, charities, experts, and other organisations. Knowing who is already working on an issue and bringing the right people together can make a big difference.
(A great example of this is the Award-winning campaign to end the 2 child limit to universal credit, which you can read about here.)
3. Understand what legal action could look like.
There are different ways to get involved in a legal case. You might bring a case yourself, support someone else’s case, provide evidence, or get involved in other ways. And different legal issues may need different types of legal expertise. Expert lawyer and facilitator of the workshop, Shauneen Lambe, will teach you these options.
4. Think beyond the court case.
Winning a case doesn’t automatically mean the change you want will happen, and losing a case doesn’t necessarily mean the campaign is over. Campaigners need to think about what they will do with the outcome, how they will communicate it, and how they will keep pushing for change afterwards. Create a plan for either outcome before starting your legal fight.
5. Bring people with you.
People affected by an issue should be part of the campaign from the beginning, rather than only becoming involved once a legal case is underway. The workshop looks at how communities can understand what’s happening and have a meaningful role in decisions about the campaign.
Our main message is this: you don’t need to know the law already. If you’re a campaigner who has never really thought about using the law, that’s exactly why this session could be useful.
You might have a campaign where the law is clearly part of the problem. You might be wondering whether a legal challenge could help. You might simply want to understand a little more about what lawyers and legal action could bring to your campaign. SMK can help with each of these.
Our next Using the Law (Legislation and Litigation) to Achieve Change workshop is running on 14 October. Sign up here.
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