Anti-Oppression Client Services Program

The purpose of our Anti-Oppression Client Services Program is to direct a portion of our time and resources toward repairing structural economic exclusion and advancing economic justice among marginalized communities across several dimensions.

We acknowledge that the traditional hourly-fee structure that drives the legal industry is deeply inequitable. An attorney’s time is often priced at rates that bear little relationship to the lived realities of the workers, organizers, and community leaders we serve. While legal fees must account for overhead, education sunk cost, and training, a significant portion of an attorney’s hourly rate is driven by the “market.”

We recognize that “the market” has long functioned as one of the pillars of systems that concentrate wealth and power, including white supremacy and related forms of structural oppression. Market logic alone does not reliably value community-oriented or justice-oriented work, and it often excludes the very people building more just alternatives.

In early June of 2020, we took a public stand in support of the Movement for Black Lives, including movements for Indigenous people and other people of color. This program is one way we act on that commitment and on our broader commitment to addressing structural economic exclusion wherever it occurs. Our work didn’t end there, as we continue to evolve and deepen our reflection upon systemic oppression and our role in pioneering and advancing just alternatives.

We intentionally limit this program so that it remains sustainable and impactful. Participation is not automatic or entitlement-based. Our Firm determines eligibility, scope, and discount levels in its discretion, guided by the criteria below and our professional judgment.

The program focuses on clients and matters that meet both of the following criteria:

(a) Communities served. The client primarily serves, or its work directly benefits, communities facing structural economic exclusion or a history of oppression. For purposes of this program, structural economic exclusion means persistent barriers to economic access, security and self-determination, such as:

• limited access to capital, credit, or investment;
• whether the source of capital and material resources comes from these same communities;
• low income or low wealth;
• limited access to affordable, quality legal support; and
• historical or ongoing disinvestment in a community or region.

(b) Nature of the work. The client is engaged in work that builds broad-based wealth, community governance, or structural change. Examples include cooperatives, shared-ownership structures, movement-aligned nonprofits, and community enterprises.

These barriers have fallen hardest on many communities, including Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color; women and gender-oppressed people; immigrants and refugees; LGBTQIA+ communities, including trans and nonbinary people; and rural and low-wealth communities. We name these communities to be honest about the history that informs this program. Eligibility, however, is determined by the criteria above. It does not depend solely on the race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic of a client or of any person who owns, leads, or works for a client.

Within this framework, our Anti-Oppression Client Services Program has two related components.

1. Anti-Oppression Discount

As a Firm, we are committed to racial and economic justice and stand in solidarity with communities facing structural economic oppression. One way we act on this is by offering a discounted fee for certain clients and matters, as described above.

The Anti-Oppression Discount applies the Framework criteria above, plus one additional consideration. We may offer an Anti-Oppression Discount for a matter where:

• the client and matter meet both Framework criteria; and
• a reduced fee will materially affect the client’s ability to access and sustain legal support.

Key features:

• Firm-initiated. We typically offer this discount unsolicited. Clients and prospective clients are welcome to share context about their work and the communities they serve, but the decision to apply any discount, and at what level, rests with us.
• Matter-specific. Discounts apply to particular matters or phases of work, not automatically to all services. Any discount will be stated in the engagement letter or fee agreement for that matter.
• Variable levels. The discount percentage may vary based on the nature of the work, the degree of structural economic exclusion involved, and the client’s financial circumstances.

Nothing in this section creates a promise or guarantee that any client, community, or matter will receive a discount.

2. Reporting and Accountability

We are committed to transparent reporting so our clients and community can see how this program operates in practice.

Subject to our confidentiality, privilege, and professional obligations, we report annually, in anonymous and aggregate form, on:

• the volume and nature of discounted, reduced-fee (“low-bono”), and pro bono work provided under this program; and
• the types of work and communities supported.

We also share stories and examples, with client permission, of how this program helps clients build broad-based wealth, community ownership, and structural change.

In 2025, we provided $29,486 in Anti-Oppression Discounts, nearly double the $14,779 we provided in 2024.

We also track and report our participation in pro bono programs, including the Colorado Supreme Court’s Pro Bono Recognition Program. We strive to provide an average of 50 hours of pro bono legal service per full-time equivalent attorney each year, and our attorneys are compensated for that time.

Program Evolution

This program is dynamic. We revisit its scope, definitions, and implementation periodically as we:

• learn from our clients and communities;
• evaluate our Firm’s capacity; and
• reflect on how we can most effectively support racial and economic justice and dismantle structural oppression through our legal work.

Nothing in this policy creates a contract or an enforceable right to discounted, reduced-fee, or pro bono services. We reserve the right to modify, pause, or discontinue this program, or any part of it, at any time and in our sole discretion.

Contact us to learn more about how this program might apply to your matter.