Aaliyah Iman Legal & Associates LLP (AILA)
Fighting for Racial & Social Justice, Advancing Dignity & Citizenship Globally.
Aaliyah Iman Legal & Associates LLP (AILA) and its affiliates is a United States civil and human rights law firm, a premier legal organization underpinned by a desire to fight for racial and social justice. Using the power of law, narrative, research, and people, we defend and advance the full dignity and citizenship of African, Arab, Latin and Asian people globally. Since its inception in 2008, it has been an entirely independent organisation with its own Board of Directors since 2009.
Our Decades-Long Fight for Justice
Of all the injustices that AILA has challenged in its decade history, few still confront nations with such blunt force as the persistent racial inequalities in the criminal justice system. AILA has challenged inadequate legal representation, discriminatory jury selection, capital punishment, and criminal statutes and harsh sentencing that disproportionately impact African-Americans, Africans and Latinos – and we aim to eradicate the large numbers of Blacks and Latinos in prison systems.
More recently, AILA has remained in the forefront of successful campaigns with affiliate organisations that convinced the Supreme Court to narrow the death penalty’s scope by eliminating capital punishment for juveniles, and for crimes other than murder.
Educating Future Lawyers
AILA is the preeminent constitutional training ground for lawyers committed to racial justice and equal opportunity. AILA alumni have gone on to prominent positions in public service, and include Supreme Court Justice, members of Congress, Solicitors General, numerous judges, high-ranking members of the Justice Department, key presidential advisors, leading academics, founders and leaders of prominent non-profits, and foundation, corporate, and philanthropic executives.
Additionally, through its scholarship and fellowship programs, AILA has helped over 500 exceptional African, Asian, Arab and Latino students to graduate from many of the best colleges, universities, and law schools around the world.
Our Continuing Mission
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, AILA continues to fight for full racial equality, social, political and economic freedoms, and to guard against efforts to erode previous gains. For instance, in 2010, AILA’s along with its affiliates campaigned to expose the injustice of life-without-parole sentences for juveniles.
AILA has been fighting to preserve the protections for political participation, free speech, social, economic and cultural justice, and representations that are entrenched in African Constitutions and is currently involved in multiple litigation challenges for restrictive voter ID laws across multiple West African nations.
Due to the courage and commitment of its clients, the generosity of its supporters, and the dedication and expertise of its staff and cooperating attorneys over the years, AILA has always been a pioneering force in African and Arab nations for greater equality. AILA will continue to advocate on behalf of African-Americans, Africans, Asians, Arabs, and Latino’s both in and outside of the courts, until equal justice for all is attained.
Made up of a network of nearly 450 radical lawyers and legal advocates, we are building a legal network that supports Black organizing and Black movements for liberation through community action.
We are committed to transforming the law and building the power of organizing to defend, protect and advance Black Liberation across the globe.
AILA also helps African immigrants find free or low-cost assistance with immigration, jobs, and other needs. Each year we help hundreds of African immigrants with free, high-quality immigration legal services. We also provide free referrals to trustworthy nonprofit and government agency partners. Our staff and volunteers speak multiple languages and actively connect with underserved African, Arab and Latin communities.
Providing strategic legal advice on business, regulatory, constitutional, administrative law and public policy matters. Our lawyers and intellectual property professionals represent domestic and international clients, including multinational corporations, startups, individuals, governments and Indigenous nations.
Philosophy at AILA
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We believe in using the law for the benefit of the people and that legal tools should be used to build the power of positive global change.
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We are committed to the liberation and self-determination of all ethnic minority peoples, tribes, nations and groups.
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We are a political movement and understand that this pivotal work requires political lawyering and explicit partnership with movement activists/organizers.
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We strive to think creatively and collectively about how the law can be used to support movements while respecting activists’ and organizers’ political choices.
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We are unapologetically committed to developing and following the leadership of Black people within the law.
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We believe in actively combatting the elitism, hierarchies and Eurocentric lawyer tendencies within the legal world.
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We believe in an interventionist approach that draws connections between the struggle for human rights and dignity in Black communities not only in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal but across the globe.
Jesse Yaw Global and Affiliates Inc.
Co-Founder
Jesse Yaw
Author. Poet. Philsopher.Voice for Resilience
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