Public Good is a public interest law firm dedicated to the idea that the law exists to serve everyone, not just those with means and ready access to the courts.

We file amicus briefs in consumer, civil rights, and civil liberties cases where the rights of ordinary people are threatened. From the right of students to exercise their conscience to the right of consumers to be free from abusive business practices, Public Good is a voice on behalf of the underrepresented.

We particularly look for cases that are out of the limelight but that raise issues with potentially far-reaching consequences. It is our mission to ensure that courts are aware of the real-life impact of their decisions.

In its first year, Public Good has already made a difference. In 2009, we:

• Successfully argued to the United States Supreme Court that the First Amendment does not stand in the way of laws that require businesses to disclose important factual information to consumers; this particular case involved law firms, but the decision could apply to everything from food retailers to pesticide manufacturers.
• Convinced the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to amend an opinion that could have allowed credit card companies to evade statutes of limitations in debt collection cases, giving them the ability to surprise consumers with claims on debts from years or even decades in the past.
• Successfully urged the California Supreme Court to nullify a lower court opinion and thereby uphold a state law establishing consumers’ right to challenge and fix mistakes on their credit reports.

Through these and other amicus interventions, we try to make the rules a little bit fairer, the courts a little bit more accessible, and justice a little bit closer to hand.