215. Attorney Lauren Barnes on the Work of Public Justice: Litigation & Advocacy that Tackles the Biggest Systemic Threats to Justice in the U.S.

In this episode of The Legal Lens, Angela Reddock‑Wright talks with attorney Lauren Guth Barnes, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Public Justice, about her journey from complex and class action litigation against drug companies to leading a national legal‑advocacy organization focused on “unrigging” the civil justice system. Now, as acting CEO, she helps guide Public Justice’s work across its core advocacy areas—access to justice and fighting forced arbitration, abusive practices in the criminal legal system (including exploitative jail phone and video‑visitation policies), environmental and consumer protection, workers’ and students’ rights, and civil rights—while elevating the organization’s lawyers, communications professionals, development staff, and partners so their cases can expand the impact of the law and make the country better for everyone.

Key Topics Covered

• Lauren Barnes’s background as a complex and class action litigator, bringing class actions and antitrust cases against pharmaceutical companies on behalf of consumers paying too much for drugs.
• Why she believes litigation is essential but not sufficient, and her desire to use other levers of power to achieve broader systemic change.
• Her long‑term involvement with the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, including service as a board member and officer before becoming acting CEO.
• An overview of Public Justice’s mission as a legal‑advocacy organization that “unrigs the system” by taking on cases others don’t or won’t in areas like access to justice and jury trials, criminal‑system abuses (including bans on in‑person jail visitation in favor of costly video calls), environmental and consumer protection, workers’ rights, students’ rights, and civil rights.
• How she now approaches leadership at Public Justice: elevating colleagues’ work, increasing exposure for the organization, and expanding the impact of its legal and policy advocacy.
• Her belief that building the world we want requires community, mutual support, and people “working every single day to make this a better place for all of us.”

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