Strategic Litigation
Courts can be battlegrounds. Strategic cases create precedents that protect everyone who comes after.
Pressure addressed: displacement, economic, leadership
Time: Cases take years to resolve
People: Legal team, plaintiff(s), support network
Resources: Legal team, funding, plaintiff support, multi-year commitment
About this tool
Not every legal case is strategic. Most are individual disputes. Strategic litigation is different, cases chosen to create precedents, establish rights, or force systemic change. The right case at the right time can transform the legal landscape. A ruling that establishes a right.
How to do it
Identify strategic opportunity
What legal change would benefit your community? What cases could create that precedent?
Find the right case
Facts that clearly illustrate the issue. Plaintiff who can sustain multi-year process. Jurisdiction that offers best chance.
Build legal team
Lawyers with relevant expertise. Ideally pro bono or funded. Committed for the long haul.
Support the plaintiff
Litigation is exhausting. The plaintiff needs emotional support, practical help, and protection from backlash.
Coordinate with advocacy
Legal and political strategies should reinforce each other. Media, organising, and litigation working together.
Plan for all outcomes
Wins and losses both need strategy. What if you lose at first instance? What if you win? Plan ahead.
Before you start
- Legal team
- Strong case facts
- Multi-year commitment
- Plaintiff support capacity
Implementation guidance
Starting point
- Strategic case selection process
- Experienced legal team committed
- Plaintiff adequately supported throughout
- Legal strategy coordinated with advocacy
- Contingency plans for different outcomes
- Precedent achieved or significant progress made
Building on it
- Case identified with strategic potential
- Legal representation secured
- Basic plaintiff support in place
Advanced practice
- Cases taken without strategic consideration
- Plaintiff abandoned during process
- No plan for adverse ruling
Non-strategic litigation wastes scarce legal resources on cases that don't advance broader goals. Abandoned plaintiffs suffer retaliation without support. Adverse rulings without contingency plans can set bad precedent that harms future cases.
Examples
Brown v. Board of Education
Strategic case to challenge school segregation in the US
Supreme Court ruling that segregated schools are inherently unequal, landmark civil rights precedent