Community Guide

Legal resource center commitment to advancing the rights and safety of lesbians.
The audacity to fight for justice. The perseverance to win.
We started as pioneers. And we still are.
Thirty-one years ago, two brave and determined women fresh out of law school and eager to make a difference decided to put their knowledge to good use. As legal scholars, Donna Hitchens and Roberta Achtenberg saw the courtroom as a way to change the world. As lesbians, they had experienced frustrations and fears both personal and professional and didn’t want others to suffer the same. And as future parents, they knew they would face even more challenges ahead.
On this foundation, the National Center for Lesbian Rights was born.

That was in 1977. Today, that pioneering spirit and unwavering commitment to advance the civil and human rights of LGBT people continues. Each year, through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education, NCLR helps more than 5,000 LGBT people and their families nationwide. And our precedent-setting case victories literally re-write the law, changing the legal landscape for all LGBT people and families across the nation. For three decades we’ve led historic cases, and today we are still trailblazing in pursuit of justice, fairness, and legal protections for all LGBT people.
Making change means changing everything.

From a humble yet tenacious focus on the specifics of adoption law, to a broad vision covering almost a dozen diverse issue areas, NCLR has expanded its life- and law-changing work in order to advance the legal landscape for every LGBT person. No stone will go unturned in pursuit of our goal of achieving full and equal access to civil and human rights for all. Our programs focusing on employment, immigration, youth, elder law, transgender law, marriage, relationship protections, healthcare and reproductive rights, and family law create safer homes, safer jobs, and a more just world.