The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, or TLDEF, was founded in 2003. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has set out to “end discrimination and achieve equality for transgender people, particularly those in our most vulnerable communities.” The legal team at TLDEF does individual casework as well as “friend of the court” briefs for cases having to do the issues of employment, health care, education, and public accommodations for trans folks.

Impact litigation is one of the TLDEF’s main avenues for trans justice. The Impact Litigation Program handles a small amount of cases so it can hone in on the unique issues of each one, thus best taking advantage of the opportunity to establish new precedents protecting trans and nonbinary folks. The Name Change Project is the organization’s legal service that “provides pro bono legal ...