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Law Forward
FounderJeff Mandell and Doug Poland
Founded atMadison, Wisconsin
Location

Law Forward is an American non-profit legal advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin.[1] Jeff Mandell[2][3] and Doug Poland[4] founded Law Forward in October 2020.[5] Poland was notable for his role as a lead trial attorney in Gill v. Whitford, a major 2018 U.S. Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering.[6]

Law Forward is currently headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.[7]

History

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Law Forward was founded by Jeff Mandell,[8][9] who serves as its General Counsel and President, as well as Doug Poland,[10] who served as its Litigation Director.[11][12]

Law Forward's original staff attorney in 2020 was Mel Barnes. In 2023, she became Chief Legal Counsel for Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.[13] She has written reports with Norm Eisen, Norman Ornstein, Jeff Mandell, and others.[1]

In 2021, Law Forward requested Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm to launch an investigation on Republicans who had sent fraudulent electoral college certifications for Donald Trump during the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections.[14][15][16][17]

In January 2022, Law Forward also appealed a judge's order barring Wisconsin ballot drop boxes for the February 15 election.[18] Another one of Law Forward's ongoing cases in 2022 seeks to reinstate voters after their registrations were deactivated.[19]

Issues

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Law Forward specializes in diverse issues, including voting rights, election interference,[20] gerrymandering,[21] and minority voting rights.[22][23][24] It also focuses on election administration in Wisconsin,[19][25][26] including state-level elections[27] and voting issues.[28] It is also a non-partisan strategic litigation firm according to Mandell.[29]

Since it's founding, Law Forward has engaged in a series of lawsuits including:

Fake Electors

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In 2022, Law Forward and co-counsel at Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) filed a civil suit, against Wisconsinites involved in the 2020 fraudulent electors scheme, uncovering the fact that the strategy was developed in Wisconsin by attorney Jim Troupis and legal adviser Ken Chesebro before spreading across the nation.[30] Extensive texts and messages uncovered in the discovery process can be found on the Law Forward website. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed multiple felony charges against the attorneys in 2024.[31]

Fair Maps

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In 2023, Law Forward, along with co-counsel Stafford Rosenbaum, Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, Campaign Legal Center, and Arnold & Porter, overturned gerrymandered state legislative maps in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission case resulted in new maps passed by the Republican legislature, signed into law by Governor Tony Evers (D), and used for elections in 2024.[32]

In 2025, Law Forward, along with counsel at Stafford Rosenbaum LLP and the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, filed a motion to intervene in Bothfeld v. Wisconsin Elections Commission charging that Wisconsin’s Congressional maps constitute an anti-competitive gerrymander.[33]

Union Rights

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In 2024, Law Forward along with co-counsel Bredhoff & Kaiser, overturned the anti-union 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 law in Dane County Circuit Court.[34] The law, which was enacted by former Governor Scott Walker (R), sparking mass protests in 2011, led to a crisis in teacher pay and retention and harmed the public education system, according to reports.[35]

Accountability

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In 2023, Law Forward filed a 100-page complaint to the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR), alleging that Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman engaged in unethical and deceitful conduct during  a probe into the results of the 2020 election. Gableman was appointed to an Office of Special Counsel by Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in 2021. Gableman was fired by Vos a year later, and the price tag for the probe reached some $2 million.[36] In 2025, Gableman stipulated to the suspension of his law license for three years in an agreement with the Office of Lawyer Regulation.[37]

In 2025 Law Forward, Democracy Defenders Fund, and Hecker Fink LLP filed a complaint in Dane County Circuit Court on behalf of the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and a group of Wisconsin voters, alleging “that billionaire Elon Musk and groups affiliated with him violated multiple Wisconsin laws—including the election-bribery statute—during the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election." [38][39]

People

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The Legal Advisory Council at Law Forward includes former legislators, politicians, and judges.[40]

Media

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Mandell has been interviewed in various media outlets, including the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC,[17] The Washington Post,[41] The New York Times, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Associated Press and many others.

References

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  1. ^ Marley, Patrick. "Attorneys warn they will take case over fake electors to court if Wisconsin officials don't act soon". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  2. ^ "The organized takeover of Wisconsin courts". July 29, 2021.
  3. ^ "Trump files new case in lawsuit barrage, looking to Wisconsin's legislature to flip outcome". ABC News.
  4. ^ Marley, Patrick. "Law Forward is a new law firm meant to push back against conservatives". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  5. ^ "Clear and present danger". January 15, 2021.
  6. ^ Cieslewicz, Dave (July 9, 2019). "All hope is not (quite) lost". Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin.
  7. ^ "Wisconsin GOP Lawmakers Have Introduced 11 Restrictive Voting Bills, Analysis Finds". UpNorthNews | Wisconsin News For You. 7 May 2021.
  8. ^ Kroll, Andy (February 6, 2022). "Wisconsin Is Ground Zero for the MAGA Effort to Steal the Next Election". Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ "PolitiFact - What you need to know about the fake Trump electors". @politifact.
  10. ^ "After heated debate, Senate passes GOP voting maps". November 9, 2021.
  11. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (22 October 2020). "Trump Posts '60 Minutes' Interview He Cut Short After Bristling at Questions". The New York Times.
  12. ^ "Wisconsin justices skeptical of conservative redistricting proposal". January 15, 2021.
  13. ^ "Mel Barnes - Wisconsin Office of the Governor (Jan. 2023-), Chief Legal Counsel - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  14. ^ Helderman, Rosalind S. (2020-11-22). "In last-gasp maneuver, Trump campaign tries to invalidate thousands of votes as Wisconsin recount gets underway". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  15. ^ "U.S. Justice Dept. to investigate Republicans who sent fake Trump electors to Congress". January 27, 2022.
  16. ^ Sisk, Courtney (January 27, 2022). "Wisconsin Republicans sent fake electoral college certifications for Trump". WISN.
  17. ^ a b "Transcript: The Rachel Maddow Show, 12/21/21". MSNBC.com. 22 December 2021.
  18. ^ Kelly, Jack (20 January 2022). "Law Forward appeals judge's order barring Wisconsin ballot drop boxes". The Cap Times.
  19. ^ a b "Wisconsin lawsuit seeks voter reinstatement for 31K after purge". Associated Press. December 22, 2021.
  20. ^ "Report shows the extent of Republican efforts to sabotage democracy". the Guardian. December 24, 2021.
  21. ^ "Redistricting debate begins with a rushed GOP plan in the Legislature". June 8, 2021.
  22. ^ "Federal court allows Wisconsin redistricting case to proceed". AP NEWS. September 16, 2021.
  23. ^ "Safar takes the helm at Law Forward". September 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "Court battles over Wisconsin redistricting heat up". September 7, 2021.
  25. ^ Johnson, Shawn (October 22, 2020). "Wisconsin Progressives Forming Nonprofit Law Firm With Election, Redistricting On Horizon". Wisconsin Public Radio.
  26. ^ "The voter fraud you didn't hear about: Wisconsin's Electoral College imposters". February 16, 2021.
  27. ^ "Proposed Wisconsin elections laws could be illegal". May 3, 2021.
  28. ^ Marley, Patrick. "Wisconsin Republicans seek to limit the use of private donations to help run elections". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  29. ^ Fortis, Louis (May 11, 2021). "Restoring Democracy in Wisconsin". Shepherd Express.
  30. ^ "Fake Elector Plot that Started in Wisconsin". Law Forward. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  31. ^ "Wisconsin attorney general files felony charges against attorneys, political aide in 2020 Trump fake electors scheme". PBS Wisconsin. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  32. ^ "2023 Maps in Courts". Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  33. ^ L, Jen (2025-06-06). "Bothfeld v. Wisconsin Elections Commission". Law Forward. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  34. ^ L, Jen (2024-12-03). "Act 10 Ruled Unconstitutional". Law Forward. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  35. ^ Gunn, Erik (2024-12-02). "Judge strikes down core parts of Act 10 that stripped most public workers' union rights • Wisconsin Examiner". Wisconsin Examiner. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  36. ^ L, Jen (2025-01-13). "Michael Gableman: Ethics Complaints". Law Forward. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  37. ^ "Gableman agrees to surrender law license for 3 years following a professional conduct complaint". PBS Wisconsin. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  38. ^ "Wisconsin lawsuit seeks to ban Elon Musk from offering $1 million checks to voters". AP News. 2025-06-11. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  39. ^ L, Jen (2025-06-11). "Lawsuit alleges Elon Musk and affiliated groups used an illegal scheme to induce Wisconsinites to vote in WI Court race". Law Forward. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
  40. ^ "Legal Advisory Council". Law Forward.
  41. ^ Helderman, Rosalind S. (2021-12-16). "'A real conflagration': Wisconsin emerges as front line in war over the 2020 vote". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
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