About
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Climate Defense Project
In the fight for climate justice, we need lawyers who are on tap, not on top; who reject harmful hierarchies and center movements instead of themselves; who are zealous and skilled advocates; who balance urgency with efficacy and care; who engage generously in information-sharing and collaboration; who value creativity and a willingness to advance novel legal theories; and who bring to their practice anti-racist, anti-colonizer, anti-carceral, and anti-capitalist values. We at Climate Defense Project strive to be those lawyers. CDP supports front-line activists, advances creative strategies and overlooked legal arguments, connects attorneys with experts and community members, and provides direct representation to those criminalized for protest, direct action, and resistance efforts.
Co-founders Alex and Ted met in law school, where they led the filing of the first fossil fuel divestment lawsuit, Harvard Climate Justice Coalition v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Claire, Kira, and Jonathan joined CDP in 2023, after supporting land and water defenders in Minnesota, Appalachia, and elsewhere. Our attorneys are currently licensed to practice in Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Washington State.
Meet the Team
- Staff Attorney
- Executive Director
- Staff Attorney
- Staff Attorney
- Staff Attorney
Meet the Board
- Board Member
- Board Member
- Board Member
- Board Member
What We Do


Without swift and decisive action, the climate emergency will wreak ever-greater havoc on our world. Its effects are borne disproportionately by those least responsible for it: poor and marginalized communities.
Fifteen percent of Americans — almost fifty million people — report that they would be willing to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience to combat climate change, but many of them lack access to reliable legal support.
The movement to respond to climate change needs movement-aligned attorneys. CDP offers activist-friendly legal arguments and comprehensive legal support for climate justice and anti-extractive campaigns. Contact us at info@climatedefenseproject.org to learn more.
Here is CDP’s Form 1023 application for tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) organization and the organization’s IRS exemption letter.