We stand with those demanding an end to structural racism and the pervasive mistreatment of the Black community. Our firm has been committed to fighting against racist systems and attitudes since our founding in 1982. The fight continues in our work challenging discrimination in housing, employment, and education, demanding law enforcement accountability through civil rights litigation, promoting access to the ballot box, and seeking justice for those who have been wrongfully convicted. But our firm is more than the cases it litigates. We promise to do more to stamp out inequality as it exists within our communities and our industry. We maintain an active Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee that advances an inclusive workplace environment through trainings and strategic planning.
Some of our biggest wins are for our exonerated clients, for whom we are proud to fight for justice in the wake of a wrongful conviction. In 2022 and 2023, BGL obtained very important settlements for men who were incarcerated for murders they did not commit.
BGL was also proudly part of one of the most important fair housing lawsuits of the past decade, Thompson v. HUD, in which we helped obtain a settlement providing 4,400 housing vouchers and mobility counseling, worth a total of over $1 billion, to enable poor Black families to move from public housing and other segregated areas of Baltimore City to communities of opportunity throughout the Baltimore region.
As part of our commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion, BGL stays on top of issues of discrimination affecting hiring practices and housing criteria, including performing constant research on the advancements of artificial intelligence in different application processes and how algorithms discriminate against people based on race, gender, and disabilities; sharing those learnings in detailed blog posts and representing people who have been affected by these harmful practices.
Brown, Goldstein & Levy holds itself to the highest standards of inclusion in all our work. We believe that celebrating diversity, inclusion, and accessibility fosters a collaborative, creative environment in which every person can use their strengths to their fullest and achieve the best results for our clients.
We promote equal opportunity within the firm without regard to race, color, ethnicity, physical or mental disability, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibilities, or age. BGL implements strategies that challenge systemic inequity, such as employer-assisted home ownership programs to support employees in purchasing homes in Baltimore because we understand that home ownership is the top contributor to household wealth. You can read more about our commitment to equity and pledge to challenge structural racism here.
We are also committed to providing physical access, reasonably modifying our practices, and providing auxiliary aids and services when needed to ensure equal access to our own firm. activities, and services. For example, our offices are wheelchair accessible, we engage sign language interpreters when needed, and our business cards are brailled. We also sponsor a disability rights fellowship for recent members of the Bar.
We are proud that the National Law Journal and Elite Lawyers selected Brown, Goldstein & Levy as the nation’s “Civil Rights Law Firm of the Year” for 2018. In 2024, fourteen members of BGL made Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers guide for 2024 and in 2023 we officially topped the Best Lawyers charts, with the most Civil Rights Law attorneys recognized across the Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch lists. With 25 and 17 recognitions respectively, BGL topped a list of only 15 firms across the United States with recognized lawyers in both publications.
ABOUT BROWN, GOLDSTEIN & LEVY
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, DC. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.