The judiciary plays a very important role in preventing the abuse of power and in protecting people�s rights. While litigation is not an appropriate vehicle for all advocacy campaigns, organisations involved in advocacy should be alert to the potential of this tool.

Litigation is not often thought of as a form of advocacy, but in many important ways, it is. Sometimes, using litigation for advocacy is relatively simple, such as filing Freedom of Information Requests, or even Friend of the Court briefs in court cases. Other times, it can be a way to change laws that the legislature or executive branches can not, or will not change.

The judiciary plays a very important role in preventing the abuse of power and in protecting people�s rights. While litigation is not an appropriate vehicle for all advocacy campaigns, organisations involved in advocacy should be alert to the potential of this tool. Keep in mind that the judiciary cannot introduce laws, but only judge or interpret existing statutes and regulations. In this way, it acts as a check on the powers of the legislature and the executive.

Nonprofit organizations are increasingly initiating or joining litigation as a means to change government policy. An environmental organization, for example, might sue the government over implementation of the Clean Air Act, or even directly sue a polluter. In another example, organizations concerned about the advocacy voice of nonprofits brought suit against the federal government over lobbying restrictions placed on legal aid organizations using Legal Service Corporation funds.

So how can your organization use litigation as an advocacy tool? The most important thing to remember is that litigation can only address a breach of current law. Making new laws is the responsibility of the legislature. Your organization can save a lot of time and money by making sure that a judge actually has the power to make the change that you're seeking, and that you have the legal standing to bring a lawsuit (generally, this means that your organization is either personally affected by a law, or represents people or entities that are).

Another important thing to remember is that litigation is generally very expensive, and involves a high level of expertise. For most organizations, the best option is to look for an organization that is active on issues that you're concerned about that also has a litigation group, or at least expertise in litigation. Most nonprofits involved in litigation do not go it alone, and often pool resources with other organizations.

Because of the expense and commitment involved, as well as the slow pace of the process, litigation is typically used as a last-ditch policy tool, although this is becoming less true as the nonprofit sector gains more expertise in the judicial arena.