This Harvard Law School Grad Has The Progressive Answer To FedSoc

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Jabot Podcast, host Kathryn Rubino speaks with Molly Coleman, Executive Director of the People's Parity Project (PPP) and newly elected St. Paul City Council member, about organizing within the legal profession and redefining the role lawyers play in democracy.

Coleman shares how her early work in public education inspired her to pursue law as a tool for systemic change, and how the People's Parity Project grew from a small group of law students into a national organizing force challenging corporate power, forced arbitration, and inequities embedded within the legal system.

The conversation explores the ideological shaping of law students, the long-term influence of legal movements, and the importance of building alternative pathways for lawyers who want to advance social and economic justice. Coleman also reflects on organizing during political crisis, the limits of courts as vehicles for change, and why community action — not institutions alone — ultimately drives democratic resilience.

This episode offers a candid look at legal activism, professional responsibility, and what it means for lawyers to engage both inside and outside systems of power.

Links & Resources

• Home - People's Parity Project

Keywords

People's Parity Project
Molly Coleman
Legal organizing
Law student activism
Legal profession reform
Forced arbitration
Non-disclosure agreements
Legal activism
Democracy and law
Popular constitutionalism
Legal organizing movements
Corporate power and law
Lawyers and social change
Legal education reform
Political organizing
Community lawyering
Judicial power
Legal profession ideology
Public interest law
Law and democracy

Episode Highlights

00:04–00:26 - Molly Coleman's path from public education to law school
00:26–01:50 - Seeking systemic change beyond direct service work
01:50–03:14 - Law school expectations versus institutional realities
03:14–04:23 - The Me Too movement and the origins of the People's Parity Project
04:23–05:24 - Early organizing against forced arbitration and NDAs
05:24–07:08 - Social media organizing and unexpected influence on Big Law
07:08–08:53 - How PPP evolved from a student project into a national organization
08:53–11:27 - Ideological shaping of law students and counterbalancing dominant narratives
11:27–12:53 - Why organizing lawyers matters for long-term political change
12:53–15:40 - Misconceptions about the political ideology of the legal profession
15:40–17:55 - Political pressures on law firms and the profession's shifting landscape
17:55–19:18 - Crisis in Minnesota and limits of relying on courts for protection
19:18–20:16 - Popular constitutionalism and people-powered resistance
20:16–22:33 - How lawyers can contribute during political and social crises
22:33–24:23 - Transitioning from organizer to elected official
24:23–26:27 - The future of legal organizing and building democratic resilience