Equal Place: Lawyers in the Struggle for Los Angeles

In An Equal Place, Scott Cummings explores how lawyers in Los Angeles used law to challenge economic inequality and reshape the meaning of low-wage work. He documents five pivotal campaigns that aimed to address garment sweatshops, criminalization of day labor, gentrification, Wal-Mart's incursion, and the misclassification of port truck drivers. By partnering with local movements, lawyers and activists redefine the city as a space for redefining work in vital industries. This book demonstrates the importance of sophisticated legal strategy and legal innovation in making L.A. a more equal place.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 576 pages
\n Publication date: 17 March 2021
\n Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
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An Equal Place is a groundbreaking exploration of the pivotal role played by lawyers in the fight against economic inequality in one of America's most unequal cities: Los Angeles. This book departs from the traditional focus on national civil rights history and instead delves into the stories of contemporary lawyers who are actively reshaping the meaning of low-wage work in the local economy. Spanning a transformative period of L.A. history, from the 1992 riots to the 2008 recession, author Scott Cummings presents an unflinching account of five pivotal campaigns in which lawyers ally with local movements to challenge the abuses of garment sweatshops, the criminalization of day labor, the gentrification of downtown retail, the incursion of Wal-Mart groceries, and the misclassification of port truck drivers. Through these campaigns, lawyers and activists redefine the city as a space for reimagining work in vital industries that have been profoundly impacted by deindustrialization, outsourcing, and immigration.

Organizing emerges outside of traditional labor law, driven by community-labor and racial justice groups who leverage the power of local government to ultimately transform the nature of labor law itself. Cummings demonstrates that a sophisticated legal strategy, which involves engaging with social movements while extending beyond the courts, is an essential component of the effort to make L.A. a more equal place. By highlighting the successes and failures of these campaigns, Cummings argues that the L.A. campaigns have achieved meaningful reform while also strengthening the position of workers in local politics.

This groundbreaking book offers a deep insight into the crucial role of lawyers in forging a new model of city-building. By dissecting the reasons for failure alongside the conditions for success, it illuminates the indispensable role of lawyers in creating a more just and equitable society. An Equal Place is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complex dynamics of economic inequality and the role of lawyers in shaping the future of our cities.

\n Weight: 1112g\n
Dimension: 168 x 242 x 45 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780190215927\n \n