Equal Justice Works is a legal nonprofit group founded in 1986 that promotes and connects lawyers, law students, and legal advocacy organizations to promote what it claims is “public service and equal justice. ¹

Activities

Equal Justice Works connects law students, lawyers, legal service organizations, and activists. The group specifically sets out to connect law students with left-of-center legal nonprofit advocacy and the federal AmeriCorps program. ²

The organization spent $7.8 million on fellowships in 2018, or about 47 percent of its full budget. The organization spent $5.8 million on AmeriCorps fellows, or 35 percent of the organization’s budget. Another 8 percent, or $1.3 million, went to law school engagement and advocacy. ³

EJW says it offers more postgraduate, full-time legal positions in public service law than any other organization. ⁴ More than 85 percent of law students that participate in the fellowships remain in non-profit advocacy-based law, according to the organization. ³

More than 98 percent of American Bar Association-accredited schools are members of Equal Justice Works, according to the organization. ⁵EJW also collaborates with law schools to establish or to expand their public interest law programs²

The group further provides information to law students about how to manage their student debt. ²

Federal Partnerships

Equal Justice Works has worked on projects for AmeriCorps, a federally-sponsored volunteer program, since 1994. In the 2015-2016 program year, Equal Justice Works sent 126 AmeriCorps Fellows and paralegals to 35 states and the District of Columbia. AmeriCorps Fellows focused on recruiting volunteer attorneys and law students and assisting in finding clients. They also helped to set up a Veterans Legal Corps. The lawyers also assisted people with criminal records seeking jobs. ⁶

The organization has also done legal fellowships that were jointly funded by the U.S. Legal Services Corporation, a federally-funded nonprofit organization. ⁷

Leadership

Verna L. Williams is the CEO of Equal Justice Works as of 2025, being appointed in July 2022 and replacing David Stern who previously served as executive director. ⁸ Prior to Equal Justice Works, Williams worked as the Dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, and beforehand a professor at the University while teaching classes regarding gender discrimination and constitutional law. Before the University of Cincinati, she worked in several roles with the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) including the director of educational opportunities and eventually its vice president. Williams also clerked for Judge David S. Nelson of the U.S. District for the District of Massachusetts, practiced law at Sidley Austin LLP, and was also the founder and co-director of the Judge Nathaniel Jones Center for Race, Gender, and Social Justice at the University of Cincinnati. ⁹

Frank R. Jimenez is the board chair of Equal Justice Works as of 2025. He also works as the group vice president and general counsel of GE Healthcare. Prior to this, he was the executive vice president and general counsel of Raytheon Technologies. He was also previously the General Counsel of the Navy,  Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense, Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Deputy Chief of Staff and Acting General Counsel for former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. He was also a partner at Steel Hector & Davis (renamed to Squire Patton Boggs as of 2025), in Miami, FL and clerked for Judge Pamela Ann Rymer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, CA. ¹⁰

1. “About Us.” Equal Justice Works, Accessed April 23, 2025. https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/about/
2. About Us. Equal Justice Works. Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/about/.
3. Equal Justice Works. Charity Navigator. Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=6228
4. Equal Justice Works. LinkedIn. Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/company/equal-justice-works/.
5. Leadership & Staff. Equal Justice Works. Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/about/leadership-staff/
6. Equal Justice Works. Serve Washington. Accessed July 31, 2020. https://servewashington.wa.gov/equal-justice-works
7. Rodriguez, Kenn. Press Release. “Church Chosen for 2020 Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellowship.” University of New Mexico. July 10, 2020. https://lawschool.unm.edu/news/2020/07/church-chosen-for-2020-rural-summer-legal-corps-fellowship.html
8. “Press Release: Equal Justice Works Names Verna Williams as CEO.” Equal Justice Works, July 21, 2022. https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/news/equal-justice-works-names-verna-williams-as-ceo/
9. Verna Williams.” Equal Justice Works, Accessed April 23, 2025. https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/about/bios/verna-l-williams/
10. “Frank R. Jimenez.” Equal Justice Works, Accessed April 23, 2025. https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/about/bios/frank-r-jimenez/