LexisNexis Offers Access to Curated Social Justice Resource Kits and Information

By Carolyn Bach| Sr. Manager, Knowledge & Research Program, LexisNexis

LexisNexis is known as a provider of resources that help legal and business professionals with their research, information and technology needs — but our company is fueled by a larger mission.  We are working to reduce the percentage of people living outside the umbrella protection of the rule of law through our day-to-day business operations, products, and services.

This advancement of the rule of law around the world requires there to be equality under the law, transparency of law, an independent judiciary and access to legal remedy. These are bedrock principles that we are committed to supporting in every country, including right here in the U.S.

One way we are striving to advance the rule of law is by leveraging the power of information, technology, and data analytics to equip legal professionals with the tools they need to zealously advocate for Americans who feel they have been denied equality under the law or access to legal remedy.

Here are several information resource kits available on our Lexis+ platform, each of which is designed to help legal professionals work to achieve social justice for all Americans:

Voting Rights Resource Kit

The Lexis® Practical Guidance team has created this online kit comprised of various resources making it easier for citizens to vote and understand the issues around voting rights. It includes primary law, secondary sources, and news articles to help legal professionals get their arms around the landscape of voting rights protections.

Specific content includes:

• Help Protect Voting Rights — resources to help protect voting rights by volunteering to staff voter hotlines, write legislators to protest efforts to suppress voting or to support voting reform, being an election observer or poll worker, or working on voter protection litigation pro bono.
• Exercise the Right to Vote — resources to find out how to register to vote, request absentee ballots and vote early in states where it is available.
• Voting Rights Act and Constitutional Challenges — resources to understand the legal protections and challenges surrounding the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act, which prohibits denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race or color.
• Voting Reform Legislation — resources to stay apprised of statutory reforms protecting the right to vote enacted at both the federal and state levels.

You may also be interested in the complimentary U.S. Voting Laws and Legislation Center.

Protesters’ Rights Resource Kit

The Lexis Practical Guidance team has assembled this basket of resources that features LexisNexis content and links to publicly available content from various legal advocacy groups that are working to promote civil rights, improve access to justice and increase police accountability.

Specific content includes:

• Protesters’ Rights — resources to obtain guidance on specific rights, including for organizations a protest, attending a protest, taking pictures or video at a protest, and when stopped by a police officer while protesting.
• Rights of Reporters Covering Protests — resources for understanding the laws affecting reporters’ rights to gather and disseminate news at protests, tips for members of the press when covering a protest, and tools to help journalists avoid incidents with police while reporting on events.
• Encounters with Police — resources to explain a person’s constitutional rights when encountering a police officer at a protest, dos and don’ts with police interactions, and guidance cards in multiple languages.

Racial Equality and Police Reform Updates

This curated resource from State Net pushes out complimentary daily updates on executive, legislative, regulatory, and municipal activities across the U.S. that are focused on combatting racial discrimination. The registration process is easy and takes less than one minute.

Visitors to the free website can also view an interactive map of all 50 states and U.S. territories. Simply click on the jurisdiction of interest, review any pending government actions (legislation; regulations; executive orders; local ordinance) and click on specific measures to read full-text updates.

Workplace Diversity, LGBTQ, and Racial and Social Justice Resource Kit

This resource kit curates relevant practice notes, templates, forms, checklists, state law surveys and more on workplace diversity, LGBTQ, and racial and social justice issues for employers.

Subjects covered include, but are not limited to, diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies; affirmative action; workplace affinity groups (also known as employee resource groups (ERG) or employee networks); major LGBTQ employment law issues; handling employees' political and protest activity; corporate board and governance issues related to diversity and racial and social justice; and guidance regarding workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Supporting and advancing the rule of law here in the U.S. requires vigilance and a dedication to the essential principles of equality under the law, transparency of law, an independent judiciary and access to legal remedy. We believe that universal and free access to these valuable information resources can help equip legal professionals with the tools they need to ensure that equality under the law is provided to all Americans.

Find additional resources in the Equal Justice practice center. Learn more about the LexisNexis Rule of Law Program here.