Document Type

White Paper

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

Legal services attorneys, public defenders, law clinics, and other public interest law practitioners, fight every day to secure basic rights for the most vulnerable persons in the U.S.—among them, people living in poverty, racial minorities, children, the elderly, and immigrants. Yet, U.S. law more often than not falls short of providing a “floor” of minimum protections for these marginalized individuals. More expansive guarantees are found under international human rights law, and some advocates in the U.S. successfully incorporate human rights norms, language and strategies into their domestic work to help advocate for increased protections.

This Handbook was designed for attorneys looking to integrate the human rights framework into their daily work in the U.S. The Handbook was first designed for legal services attorneys at Maryland Legal Aid and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and was first published in 2013. A full version of the original Handbook is available here. The Handbook has since been updated and expanded to provide human rights guidance to public interest attorneys across the United States.

This Handbook is just a starting place. Moreover, it is a working document. We hope that you will add resources, useful cases, success stories, and sample pleadings. We also hope to continue to add additional legal issue areas to the Handbook, as human rights arguments are made and successes are achieved, and to share strategies and arguments that resonate with judges and policymakers across the U.S. Please visit our Google Form: https://forms.gle/afsewUUPu878ebM6A to suggest edits and additions for this Handbook.

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