June is Pride Month—a time to celebrate the strength, resilience, and impact of the LGBTQIA+ community. In Oakland and Alameda County, several legal organizations are working year-round to promote equity, protect civil rights, and empower the most vulnerable members of our communities. This Pride Month, we honor these trailblazing organizations whose work strengthens both the legal system and the broader movement for justice.

Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF)

Founded in 1980, BALIF is the nation’s oldest and largest association of LGBTQIA+ legal professionals. The organization advocates for the rights of LGBTQIA+ people in the Bay Area and beyond through education, community building, and political action. BALIF offers mentorship, networking, and a powerful collective voice for queer and trans attorneys, judges, law students, and legal allies.

Transgender Law Center (TLC)

Headquartered in Oakland, TLC is the largest transgender-led legal organization in the country. It advocates for a world where all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination—regardless of gender identity or expression. Their work spans litigation, public policy, and community-led initiatives that center Black, brown, and immigrant trans people.

Oasis Legal Services

Oasis Legal Services provides high-quality legal immigration services to LGBTQIA+ immigrants seeking safety in the United States. Based in the Bay Area, Oasis has helped thousands of clients with asylum, residency, and citizenship, offering trauma-informed support to those fleeing violence and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

GSA Network

The Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network, also headquartered in Oakland, empowers LGBTQIA+ youth and their allies to fight for safer, more inclusive schools. Through leadership development, advocacy, and youth organizing, GSA Network builds the next generation of LGBTQIA+ leaders and legal advocates.

Oakland LGBTQ Community Center

The Oakland LGBTQ Community Center provides holistic support to LGBTQIA+ individuals, including legal clinics, mental health services, and community education. The Center serves as a hub for both urgent needs and long-term empowerment, partnering with legal professionals to offer pro bono consultations and resources to those in need.

Out & Equal

Based in Oakland, Out & Equal works to ensure workplace equality for LGBTQIA+ individuals through corporate training, policy guidance, and global advocacy. While their primary focus is employment, Out & Equal collaborates with legal professionals to navigate the intersection of workplace rights, anti-discrimination law, and corporate compliance.

Why It Matters

As attorneys, we are uniquely positioned to defend civil liberties, support marginalized communities, and uphold the rule of law. Pride Month is an opportunity to reflect not only on progress made, but on the work ahead—and to support the organizations doing it.

Join Us

This July, we invite you to continue the conversation by attending our free virtual MCLE, “Rule of Law in Action”, on Monday, July 8, from 12:00–1:15 PM. Learn how legal professionals can take concrete steps to protect the rule of law through service, with presentations from local legal organizations committed to justice and equity.

Register for the Rule of Law in Action MCLE here

Pride is more than a celebration—it’s a call to action. Let’s show up.