Collection Guide
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Preliminary Inventory of the National Lawyers Guild Records, 1936-1999
BANC MSS 99/280 cz
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Table of contents
Description
National Lawyers Guild Records, 1936-1999, contains the organizations founding documents and annual convention records; national,
regional and chapter publications, amicus briefs, and executive, legal and committee documents and correspondence. Also, eighteen
NLG attorney's correspondence, legal case and office files. Reports and publications of the International Association of Democratic
Lawyers and the American Association of Jurists, 1971-1998.
Background
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) was founded in 1937 as an alternative to the conservative and racially segregated American
Bar Association. NLG is an organization that utilizes the legal and political skills of its members to serve the basic principle
set out in its constitution: to function as "an effective political and social force in the service of the people... to the
end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests" and to support the movement for progressive
social change. Currently, active membership is composed of lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers. As
of 1999, approximately 5,000 NLG members support 56 chapters nationwide. The NLG website is at http://www.nlg.org
Extent
Number of containers: 65 cartons, 87 boxes, 9 oversize boxes
Linear feet: 119.65
Restrictions
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the appropriate curator or the Head of Public Services for forwarding. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Availability
Restrictions
Collection is open for research, with the following exceptions: Series 5, 18 and 19 are available by permission only, see
Reference desk for an Application for Access to Restricted Material; parts of Series 9 and 19 and all of Series 15 are unarranged
and unavailable for use. See on-line catalog record to determine availability of specific containers.