Welcome to the Legal Action Center’s website

                 

"I’m very proud to work side by side with the Legal Action Center," says Betty Ford as she accepts the Liman Award, "battling the stigma and discrimination faced by men and women who suffer from the disease of addiction."

The Board and Staff of the Legal Action Center welcome you to our website. We hope you will become a regular visitor and take advantage of the wealth of information and resources we’ve made available here.

Download our 60+ (and counting!) free publications.

Use our 80+ useful links to resources and information about LAC’s issues, constituencies, and areas of interest.

Sign up to receive LAC’s free Washington Weekly Roundup newsletter by e-mail so you can be updated on federal and Congressional activities relevant to drug/alcohol treatment and prevention every week that Congress is in session, or visit the site every week for a new edition.  And browse the WWR archives.

Purchase LAC’s Of Substance newsletter, books, training videos, and       other products directly from our website. If your organization is affected       by the new HIPAA regulations, you may find the newest edition of Confidentiality       & Communication is just what you need. Substantially revised and       expanded to   include HIPAA, the book is in its second printing! And LAC will soon add electronic HIPAA trainings to our roster of products. Watch our site for announcements of new LAC offerings.

                           

	President Gerald Ford accompanies Mrs. Ford as LAC honors her in January 2002.  From left, LAC President/Director Paul Samuels, Board member Jason Flom, John Sykes, recipient of LAC’s inaugural Corporate Responsibility Award, the Fords, and LAC Chairman Daniel Mayers

Visit our site just for the fun of looking at photos and reading about special events and extraordinary people. LAC’s Annual Awards Benefit is all about extraordinary people—such as former First Lady Betty Ford, amfAR co-founder Dr. Mathilde Krim, award-winning actor/director Charles S. Dutton, the family of Bill, Judith, and William Cope Moyers, and all the other recipients of our Arthur Liman Public Interest Awards.

Established to honor the memory of Arthur L. Liman, LAC’s co-founder and Board Chair for 25 years, the awards acknowledge superior achievements in addressing issues at the core of LAC’s mission—alcohol/drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, and criminal justice.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

LAC Board member Michael Deaver and Betty Ford at our fourth annual benefit in January 2002.

        Henry Schleiff and Court TV received the award earlier this year for outstanding contributions to the dialogue on drug policy reform and criminal justice issues through excellent original programming. Betty Ford was honored for her work on behalf of people in recovery or still suffering from alcoholism and addiction. Charles S. Dutton was cited for his personal commitment and for his body of professional work that has contributed to the public’s understanding of addiction and criminal justice. Dr. Mathilde Krim and the late philanthropist Irene Diamond were acknowledged for their tireless dedication to the fight against AIDS. The Moyers were honored for their private courage and public contribution to the nation’s understanding of addiction, treatment, and recovery.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

	Bourne Identity star Matt Damon chatted with LAC President/Director Paul Samuels and Board member Doug Liman, the film’s director, at the special New York City opening of the film in June 2002 to showcase LAC’s work. A renowned independent filmmaker, Mr. Liman produced and directed the hits Swingers and Go before directing the blockbuster Bourne Identity for Universal Studios

        The Liman Awards are presented at our annual benefit, which raises money to support the work of the Legal Action Center and its Arthur Liman Policy Institute. For more information about the awards and honorees, please visit the Arthur Liman Public Interest Awards section of this website. To support LAC’s mission by making a tax-deductible donation, please go to Contribute to the Legal Action Center.

Be sure to watch this site for news of other events as well. We’ll be posting special events such as last June’s New York City premiere of The Bourne Identity. The film’s director, Board member Doug Liman, featured LAC’s work to reform the Rockefeller-era drug laws at a specially scheduled screening of his movie. After a reception at Burberry’s on 57th Street, the party moved to the theater for a pre-screening program where Board member Jason Flom joined Mr. Liman, LAC Director/President Paul Samuels, and the film’s star, Matt Damon, to speak to the audience about LAC’s ongoing advocacy to reform New York State drug laws.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Henry Schleiff, Chairman/CEO of Court TV, accepts the Liman Award from Board member Doug Liman at LAC’s fifth annual benefit. At far left is LAC Board Chairman Daniel Mayers; at far right, Lewis Liman and LAC President/Director Paul Samuels.

LAC has been a leading advocate to reform New York’s draconian drug laws since they were passed 30 years ago. We brought the first federal case that challenged the laws’ constitutionality, which led to their being revised in the 1970s for the first – and so far only – time. Yet the laws are still among the harshest in the nation, mandating overly harsh and cruelly ineffective sentences and requiring prison terms for thousands of addicted people who should instead be sent to treatment. Nearly all – 94 percent – are African Americans and Latinos, despite the fact that their rates of drug use are similar to those of whites. For more information please visit the NY Alcohol & Drug Advocacy or NY Criminal Justice Advocacy sections of this website.