Equality Legal Action Fund

The group was founded by former Nebraska state Senator and Democratic nominee for Lancaster County Attorney Adam Morfeld. ^{2 3 4}

Activities

In April 2025, the Equality Legal Action Fund represented Jo Ellis, a transgender Virginia national guard pilot, who sued right-wing influencer Matthew Wallace after Wallace falsely accused Ellis of piloting a military helicopter that collided with an American Airlines plane over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2025 leading to 67 deaths. The suit was filed in a Colorado federal court, and was ongoing as of July 2025.  ⁵

In September 2024, Equality Legal Action Fund attorney Meg Phelan announced she would be representing Beaufort County, South Carolina schoolteacher Mardy Burleson in a defamation suit against several individuals for labeling Burleson a “groomer” after she provided a survey to students in her class which asked for their preferred pronouns. The suit was announced following a push to ban LGBT books from the school district libraries for being “inappropriate and pornographic.” The defamation suit targeted five individuals including a former Beaufort County Council member, a school district parent, an online blogger, and South Carolina state Rep. Thomas Beach (R-Anderson). ^{6 7}

Finances

According to its 2023 nonprofit tax return, the Equality Legal Action Fund reported a revenue of $200,000, expenses of $10,878, and total assets of $189,122. ⁸

Leadership

Adam Morfeld is the founder and president of Equality Legal Action Fund. Morfeld is also listed as the president of the Nebraska Donor Alliance, an attorney, and the managing partner for Civic Strategies, LLC. Morfeld was previously the executive director for Civic Nebraska. In 2014, Morfeld was elected to the Nebraska State Senate, and was reelected in 2018 before leaving office in 2023. ^{9 3 4}