{{Short description|American nonprofit organization}} {{Infobox organization | name = Atlantic Legal Foundation | logo = | type = 501(c)(3) organization | tax_id = 23-2022920 | founded = 1977 | founder = | location = Larchmont, New York | origins = | key_people = | region_served = United States | focus = Constitutional Issues, Corporate Governance, Property Rights, School Choice, Sound Science | method = | revenue = | endowment = | website = {{Official URL}} | num_employees = | owner = | former_name = }}
Established in 1977, '''Atlantic Legal Foundation''', also known as '''ALF''', is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest law firm that litigates individual liberty, deregulation, free enterprise, and private property rights. The foundation was started to pursue a “deep commitment to redressing the bias against business which manifests itself in favor of narrow ‘consumer’ or ‘environmental’ concerns.”<ref name=":0">Atlantic Legal Foundation. ''Annual Report''. 1994 (as cited in https://web.archive.org/web/20150907234840/http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=16)</ref> ALF has argued against environmental and worker regulations promulgated by federal agencies and works to promote “school-choice”.<ref>[http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php?artType=view&EntryNo=5851 Atlantic Legal Foundation - How You And Your Law Firm Partners Can Best Support Its Activities]</ref><ref>''Loper Bright Enterprises'', ''et al. v. Gina Ramondo'', No. 22–451 (cert. granted) (Brief of Atlantic Legal Foundation as Amicus Curiae) (arguing that the Court should curtail applications of ''Chevron'' deference), http://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-451/271971/20230713115147182_43770%20pdf%20Ebner%20combined.pdf</ref> Atlantic Legal provides legal representation, without fee, to certain individuals, corporations, trade associations, parents, scientists, and educators.
The Foundation frequently files ''amicus curiae'' briefs in high-profile court cases before state supreme courts, federal circuit courts, and the United States Supreme Court.<ref name="leadership">[http://www.atlanticlegal.org/leadership.php Atlantic Legal Foundation's Leadership] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702200526/http://www.atlanticlegal.org/leadership.php |date=July 2, 2013 }}</ref><ref>''Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta'', No. 19–251 (Mar. 1, 2021) (Brief of National Association of Manufacturers, Atlantic Legal Foundation, and National and State Trade Associations as Amicus Curiae), http://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/19-251/170574/20210301165958372_NAM%20et%20al%20Becerra%20Merits%20Amicus%203.1%20Final.pdf</ref>
Atlantic Legal is overseen by a board of directors composed of corporate executives, partners of major law firms, and current and retired corporate chief legal officers.<ref name=leadership/> The Board reviews and decides the cases in which Atlantic Legal will participate.<ref name=metrocorp>[http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/articles/23602/atlantic-legal-foundation-advocating-business-community Atlantic Legal Foundation Advocating For The Business Community]</ref> The Foundation also has an Advisory Council, which consists of attorneys, scientists, medical doctors, and educators.<ref name=leadership/>
ALF is funded by a variety of individuals and organizations. Major donors have included the Koch Brothers' Claude R. Lambe Foundation,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Legal Foundation - SourceWatch |url=https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Atlantic_Legal_Foundation#Support_for_Charter_Schools |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.sourcewatch.org |quote="The Koch brothers' Claude R. Lambe Foundation made a $20,000 contribution to ALF in 2002. ALF has submitted briefs in a number of cases with other legal foundations and organizations with ties to the Kochs, including the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Citizens United, the Goldwater Institute, the Cato Institute, and the National Federation of Independent Business."}}</ref> Sarah Scaife Foundation,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Legal Foundation |url=https://www.desmog.com/atlantic-legal-foundation/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=DeSmog |language=en-US}}</ref> ExxonMobil,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Legal Foundation |url=https://www.desmog.com/atlantic-legal-foundation/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=DeSmog |language=en-US}}</ref> Chevron,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-07 |title=ExxonSecrets Factsheet: Atlantic Legal Foundation |url=http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=16 |access-date=2023-07-18 |archive-date=2015-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907234840/http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=16 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> DuPont,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-07 |title=ExxonSecrets Factsheet: Atlantic Legal Foundation |url=http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=16 |access-date=2023-07-18 |archive-date=2015-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907234840/http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=16 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> and the Joyce and Donald Rumsfeld Association.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Legal Foundation |url=https://www.desmog.com/atlantic-legal-foundation/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=DeSmog |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Programs ==
===Constitutional issues===
Atlantic Legal has participated in cases involving a broad range of state and federal constitutional law issues. The Foundation has filed briefs in cases concerning free speech, equal protection, due process, federalism, separation of powers, property rights, and international law.<ref>[http://atlanticlegal.org/program.php?catid=3 Constitutional Issues] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630043007/http://atlanticlegal.org/program.php?catid=3 |date=June 30, 2013 }}</ref>
ALF filed ''amicus'' briefs in high-profile U.S. Supreme Court cases such as
* ''Rumsfeld v. FAIR'' (arguing withholding federal funds from colleges that refused to permit military recruiters on campus did not violate the First Amendment);<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Martin |title=Supreme Court of the United States – No. 04-1152 Title: Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, et al., Petitioners v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc., et al. - Brief of Charles S. Abbott, et al. as amicus curiae |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docketfiles/04-1152.htm |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.supremecourt.gov}}</ref> * ''Crawford v. Marion County Election Board'' (submitting an amicus brief on behalf of the Conservative Party of New York State arguing that a Voter ID law did not violate the First or Fourteenth Amendments);<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Martin S. |title=Search - Supreme Court of the United States – No. 07-21, William Crawford, et al., Petitioners v. Marion County Election Board, et al. – Brief amicus curiae of Conservative Party of New York State |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docketfiles/07-21.htm |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.supremecourt.gov}}</ref> and * ''Wal-Mart v. Dukes'' (submitting an amicus brief in support of Walmart arguing for increased scrutiny of class certification, i.e., that courts should be more skeptical of expert testimony supporting the commonality of class-plaintiffs).<ref>[http://atlanticlegal.org/newsarchive.php Atlantic Legal News Archive] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629024508/http://atlanticlegal.org/newsarchive.php|date=June 29, 2013}}, https://atlanticlegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Walmart-2011.pdf</ref> * In ''Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council'', a Supreme Court case involving a state law barring state agencies from doing business with Myanmar (formerly Burma), Atlantic Legal submitted a brief on behalf of former President Gerald R. Ford as well as a group of former Secretaries of State, Defense, Treasury, and Commerce, former National Security Advisors, former presidential chiefs of staff, and senior members of Congress.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlanticlegal.org/newsitem.php?nid%3D96 |title=Atlantic Legal News: Atlantic Legal Foundation's Position on State Intervention in Foreign Affairs is Adopted |accessdate=2013-07-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808051936/http://www.atlanticlegal.org/newsitem.php?nid=96 |archivedate=2014-08-08 }}</ref>
The Foundation has recently filed briefs in the Supreme Court of the United States challenging the constitutionality of the President's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in ''NLRB v.'' ''Noel Canning''.
In 2013, ALF filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court urging the court to side with the petitioners in ''Daimler AG v. Bauman''. At issue in that case was the conduct of a U.S.-owned corporation in Argentina during the Dirty War. a labor dispute developed at the Mercedes-Benz plant in González Catán. Mercedes-Benz reported the labor leaders as "subversives" to the right-wing military junta, had junta forces stationed within the factory, and allowed the junta to conduct raids on workers. During the dispute, twenty-two labor leaders were kidnapped, tortured, and murdered.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brief for Respondents |url=http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/11-965-bs.pdf}}</ref> Afterwards, Mercedes-Benz Argentina provided the police chief responsible for the "disappearances" with legal defense against human rights abuse accusations.<ref>Bauman v. DaimlerChrystler Corp., 644 F.3d 909, 912 (9th Cir. 2011).</ref> ALF argued that DaimlerChrysler AG could not be held liable for the conduct of its Argentinian subsidiary and because a German Corporation had more interest in the suit's resolution.
===“Sound science”===
Atlantic Legal's “sound science” program advocates for the admissibility of medical testimony in toxic tort, product liability, and other types of litigation. This program aligns with their resolve to "redress[] the bias against business which manifests itself in favor of narrow ‘consumer’ or ‘environmental’ concerns.”<ref name=":0" /> Atlantic Legal challenges the admissibility of "junk science" in the courtroom. ALF has authored ''amicus'' briefs on behalf of scientists and scholars, including two dozen Nobel Laureates.<ref name="corporatepolicy.org">{{Cite web |url=http://www.corporatepolicy.org/issues/Atlantic.htm |title=Corporations and the Constitution |access-date=2009-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706202937/http://www.corporatepolicy.org/issues/Atlantic.htm |archive-date=2010-07-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Foundation claims it has "successfully challenged bogus theories of medical causation" in toxic tort cases involving asbestos and other hazardous substances.<ref name="metrocorp" />
In the Supreme Court case ''Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals'', a decision that set evidentiary standards for expert witness testimony, the Court's majority opinion cited the Foundation's ''amicus curiae'' brief as part of its analysis.<ref name="corporatepolicy.org" /><ref>[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=827109112258472814&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 US 579 - Supreme Court 1993]</ref> Other important Supreme Court cases where Atlantic Legal's legal briefs have affected the outcome include ''Joiner v. General Electric'' and ''Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael'' (in which the Foundation's ''amicus'' brief was also cited), which, in conjunction with ''Daubert'', comprise the so-called "Daubert trilogy" of cases that lay out the ''Daubert'' standard for expert witness testimony in federal courts.<ref name="corporatepolicy.org" />
In all three cases ALF persuaded the Court to tighten evidentiary standards for plaintiff experts and "succeed[ed] in having plaintiff’s scientific experts deemed unsuitable".<ref name="corporatepolicy.org" /><ref>[http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php?artType=view&EntryNo=5014 Make Your Corporate Contributions Count - Consider "Atlantic Legal"]</ref>
Much of ALF's recent efforts in the “sound science” arena have involved challenging toxic tort claims against manufacturers and producers of asbestos products, efforts that have rewarded those corporations with favorable decisions in several state courts.<ref name="ReferenceA">Slattery, William H. "Atlantic Legal Foundation: Serving the Public Interest." The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel May 2014: 24. Print.</ref>
===Corporate governance===
ALF's corporate governance program was established to advocate against ‘intrusive regulation of business’ and to foster corporate governance. ALF states that "corporate accountability is best secured by the personal choices of customers and investors, not by ineffective regulators or activist courts."<ref>[http://atlanticlegal.org/program.php?catid=4 Corporate Governance] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630043045/http://atlanticlegal.org/program.php?catid=4 |date=June 30, 2013 }}</ref>
ALF works to defend corporations from class action lawsuits.<ref name="class action">[http://atlanticlegal.org/newsitem.php?nid=262 Class Action Certification Procedure Scrutinized] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808142253/http://atlanticlegal.org/newsitem.php?nid=262 |date=August 8, 2014 }}</ref> Such cases include the Supreme Court's landmark curtailment of class actions in ''Wal-Mart v. Dukes'',<ref>[https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-277.pdf Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes et al.]</ref> where Atlantic Legal filed briefs in support WalMart, asking the Court to toss-out Betty Dukes' sex-discrimination case against Walmart.<ref name="class action"/>
===School choice===
ALF's work in education focuses on supporting charter schools, including launching a website dedicated to defending charter schools from their detractors.<ref>[http://atlanticlegal.org/program.php?catid=1 School Choice] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630043040/http://atlanticlegal.org/program.php?catid=1 |date=June 30, 2013 }}</ref> A major part of this effort is publishing a series of state-specific union-busting guides titled "Leveling the Playing Field", which inform charter school leaders how to combat labor union organizing campaigns.<ref>[http://www.defendcharterschools.org/ Charter School Advocacy Program]</ref>
ALF also evaluated and proposed reforms to New York's charter renewal procedures and has counseled individual charter schools.<ref>[http://www.atlanticlegal.org/pdfs/New%20York%20PERB%20Brief.pdf New York PERB Brief] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425122951/http://www.atlanticlegal.org/pdfs/New%20York%20PERB%20Brief.pdf |date=April 25, 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.atlanticlegal.org/pdfs/Brief%20of%20Amici%20Curiae%20In%20Support%20of%20Appellees%20-%20Albin%20Final.pdf Brief of Amici Curiae In Support of Appellees - Albin Final] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425123002/http://www.atlanticlegal.org/pdfs/Brief%20of%20Amici%20Curiae%20In%20Support%20of%20Appellees%20-%20Albin%20Final.pdf |date=April 25, 2012 }}</ref>
===Position papers===
ALF regularly publishes papers considering legal issues of public concern including those concerning charter schools and has previously published papers advocating for deregulation of the environment.<ref>[http://www.atlanticlegal.org/Judge_KAYE.pdf Judge Kaye] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719045007/http://www.atlanticlegal.org/Judge_KAYE.pdf |date=July 19, 2011 }}</ref>
==Funding==
ALF is a non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation that relies on grants from corporations, private foundations, law firms, and individuals.<ref name=guidestar>{{cite web|url= http://www2.guidestar.org/organizations/23-2022920/atlantic-legal-foundation.aspx#top|title=Atlantic Legal Foundation|publisher=GuideStar}}</ref> The Foundation has received an estimated $3.9 million in contributions since 1985.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Legal Foundation |url=https://www.desmog.com/atlantic-legal-foundation/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=DeSmog |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Ties to the Koch Brothers === The Claude R. Lambe Foundation—a Foundation of the Koch Brothers—made a $20,000 contribution to ALF in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Legal Foundation |url=https://www.desmog.com/atlantic-legal-foundation/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=DeSmog |language=en-US}}</ref> ALF has submitted briefs in a number of cases with other legal foundations and organizations that have funding connections with the Kochs, including the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Citizens United, the Goldwater Institute, the Cato Institute, and the National Federation of Independent Business.
=== Sarah Scaife Foundation === ALF has received the majority of its funding—$2.53 million—from the Sarah Scaife Foundation that was founded by the late-conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife. In addition to ALF, the Sarah Scaife Foundation donates tens of millions of dollars annually to conservative and business-friendly lobbying groups, foundations, and non-profits including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) (~$100,000), the Heritage Foundation ($15 million), and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) ($4.4 million).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sarah Scaife Foundation - SourceWatch |url=https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sarah_Scaife_Foundation |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.sourcewatch.org}}</ref>
=== Corporations === While individual donors and non-profit organizations comprise the majority of ALF's funding, the Foundation has also received contributions from corporations such as the oil company ExxonMobil. Exxon (and the ExxonMobil Foundation) contributed $39,000 to ALF since 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Legal Foundation - SourceWatch |url=https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Atlantic_Legal_Foundation |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.sourcewatch.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlantic Legal Foundation |url=https://www.desmog.com/atlantic-legal-foundation/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=DeSmog |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== * {{Official website}} * {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|232022920}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150102085521/http://nccsweb.urban.org/communityplatform/nccs/organization/profile/id/232022920/popup/1 Organizational Profile] – National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute)
{{Authority control}} Category:Non-profit organizations based in New York (state) Category:501(c)(3) organizations