irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024
What they reported doing
- #1 primary $1.31MTHE DOCKET : The Docket worked to represent survivors of grave international crimes in court, gathering evidence in conflict zones and working to advance accountability for perpetrators.
- #2 $778KWAGING JUSTICE FOR WOMEN (WJW) : Waging Justice for Women provides free legal aid to women and girls to defend their rights, including their right to be free from discrimination, child marriage and violence. Together with its on-the-ground partners across Africa, WJW challenges unjust laws, establishes women-for-women legal aid clinics and mentors the next generation of womens rights lawyers through an annual fellowship. In its first two years, WJW has directly provided free legal services to more than 6,500 women and girls through legal aid clinics. Its fellows have waged justice in hundreds of womens rights cases.
named programs · 3 · from sources
What they call their work
Free Legal Services for Women
Provides direct legal aid to thousands of women and children, focusing on gender-based injustice, child marriage, and systemic discrimination.
SLAPP Defense Initiative
Challenges Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) used to silence journalists and critics, including legal advocacy and amicus briefs in constitutional challenges.
TrialWatch
Monitors trials globally for due process violations, provides expert legal analysis, and advocates for the release of unjustly detained individuals, particularly journalists and human rights defenders.
activities · 3 groups
What they do
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Pro Bono Legal Representation and Support 3 activities
- Build legal capacity through training and pro bono engagementDevelop and deliver trial monitoring training approved by the United Nations, support early-career women lawyers, and mobilize leading law firms through the Justice Champion Program to expand pro bono legal support for women’s rights and free speech cases globally.
- Develop AI-powered tools to expand access to justiceLaunch pilot projects using artificial intelligence in collaboration with global partners to improve access to legal resources and services for underserved populations.
- Provide free legal aid to women and journalists globallyDeliver free legal services—including advice, representation, and legal support—to thousands of women and journalists facing discrimination, violence, or unjust imprisonment. The organization has provided over 10,000 hours of legal aid across more than 40 countries, resulting in the release of dozens of journalists and legal relief for survivors of gender-based violence.
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Human Rights Advocacy & Accountability 1 activity
- Advocate for legal and policy reforms on women's rights and free speechFile amicus briefs, legal interventions, and advocacy campaigns to challenge unjust laws and policies, including Tanzania’s ban on pregnant girls in school, restrictions on naming rape accused, and anti-democratic laws targeting journalists and human rights defenders. These efforts have contributed to policy reversals and legal reforms in multiple countries.
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Uncategorized 3 activities
- Conduct research on systemic barriers to justiceConduct in-depth research, including interviews and case analysis, to document systemic failures in access to justice for survivors of gender-based violence and discriminatory legal practices, such as the prosecution of survivors under Kenya’s FGM law.
- Monitor unfair trials and advocate for fair trial rightsDeploy trained monitors to observe trials globally, identify fair trial violations such as denial of legal access or use of torture-tainted evidence, and issue public assessments. Advocacy based on monitoring has led to retrials, procedural corrections, and policy reversals, including in the cases of Mzia Amaglobeli, Evelyn Hernandez, and José Rubén Zamora.
- Represent survivors of gender-based violence and international crimesProvide legal representation to survivors of grave international crimes, including Yazidi women enslaved by ISIS, survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, and victims of sexual and gender-based violence. The organization has secured landmark genocide convictions in the first three global cases against ISIS fighters and is a party in the trial against Congolese warlord Roger Lumbala.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$5.50M
Contributions & grants$7.94M144%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$99K2%
Other revenue$-2.54M
expenses
Total expenses$12.23M
Program expenses48%
Admin / overhead39%
Fundraising13%
Salaries & benefits$6.95M
Grants paid out$618K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$9.70M
Cash$767K
Investments$5.31M
Liabilities$655K
Net assets$9.04M
Liquid reserves6.0 mo
4 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -63.7%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 15
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMMA LINDSAY | CO CEO & PRES. | 40 | $427K |
| DAVID SAGAL | CO CEO & PRES. | 40 | $368K |
| JACQUELINE RYALL | Secrt. & GEN CO | 40 | $347K |
| Anya Neistat | Legal Director, The Docket | 40 | $339K |
| Deena Katz | COO & TREASURER | 40 | $332K |
| Yasmine Chubin | Legal Advocacy Dir, The Docket | 40 | $256K |
| Angela Mudukuti | Legal Director, WJW | 40 | $233K |
| Stephen Townley | Legal Director, TrialWatch | 40 | $230K |
| MALLORY TRIEST | Head of Finance | 40 | $166K |
| Susan Wnukowska-Mtonga | Snr. Prog. Manager | 40 | $159K |
| Antonia David | Snr. Prog. Manager | 40 | $157K |
| NICOLE DEYEAR | HEAD OF OPER. | 40 | $133K |
| Ignacio Jovtis | Snr. Prog. Manager | 40 | $129K |
| Manel Chibane | Legal Prog Manager | 40 | $128K |
| Tondi Mulaudzi | Legal Prog Manager | 40 | $125K |
board members · 9
- AMAL CLOONEY — Director
- BRAD SMITH — Director
- BRYAN LOURD — Director
- DARREN WALKER — Director
- DR DENIS MUKWEGE — Director
- DR ERIC ESRAILIAN — Director
- GEORGE CLOONEY — Director
- PHILIPPA WEBB — Director
- SUSAN ZANNY MINTON BEDDOES — Director
relationships · 37
Who they work with
- AdvocAid Partner — Host organization for 2026 WJW Fellow in Sierra Leone
- Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia Partner — Hosted a WJW fellow who secured a restraining order for a domestic violence survivor.
- Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFeLL) Partner — Host organization for 2026 WJW Fellow in Liberia
- Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) Partner — Host organization for 2026 WJW Fellow in Malawi
- Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) Partner — Hosted WJW fellows to provide legal support in Malawi, including prosecution of gender-based violence cases.
- Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria Partner — Host organization for 2026 WJW Fellow in South Africa
- Clooney Foundation for Justice UK Network — Registered charity in England affiliated with the Clooney Foundation for Justice.
- Columbia Law School Partner — Coordinates CFJ's collaboration with law schools globally for next-generation legal partnerships
- Covington & Burling LLP Partner — Pro bono legal partner collaborating with TrialWatch to prepare fairness reports on trials.
- Equality Now Partner — Collaborated on a legal submission to the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights challenging Tanzania’s ban on married and pregnant girls attending school.
- Equality Now Partner — Partnered on a landmark case leading to the reversal of Tanzania's policy expelling pregnant and married girls from school.
- Female Lawyers Association-Gambia (FLAG) Partner — Host organization for 2026 WJW Fellow in The Gambia
- Ford Foundation Funder — Major supporter of the Clooney Foundation for Justice
- Fund for Global Human Rights Partner — Collaborating through the Legal Empowerment Fund to support the Waging Justice for Women Fellowship.
- Fund for Global Human Rights’ Legal Empowerment Fund Partner — Co-implements the Waging Justice for Women Fellowship with CFJ
- Gates Foundation Partner — Partnering to work towards ending child marriage within a generation.
- Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa Partner — Host organization for 2026 WJW Fellow in South Africa
- Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) Partner — Host organization for 2026 WJW Fellow in The Gambia
- Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) Partner — Hosted a WJW fellow who contributed to a pivotal case before the ECOWAS Court on behalf of a rape survivor.
- Katiba Institute Partner — Host organization for 2026 WJW Fellow in Kenya
- Melinda French Gates Coalition — Jointly advocated with the Clooney Foundation for Justice to end child marriage and support girls' rights.
- Michelle Obama Coalition — Jointly advocated with the Clooney Foundation for Justice to end child marriage and support girls' rights.
- Microsoft Funder — Major supporter of the Clooney Foundation for Justice
- Obama Foundation Partner — Partnering to work towards ending child marriage within a generation.
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Government — Partnered with the Clooney Foundation for Justice on TrialWatch to uphold international fair trial standards.
- Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) Partner — Host organization for 2026 WJW Fellow in Tanzania
- Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA’s School of Law Partner — Collaborates with CFJ on legal initiatives and next-generation lawyer engagement
- Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan Partner — Inaugural partner in the Justice Champion Program, providing pro bono legal support to CFJ's core programs and the Oxford Institute for Technology and Justice.
- Tanzania Women Lawyers’ Association Partner — Collaborated on a legal submission to the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights challenging Tanzania’s ban on married and pregnant girls attending school.
- United Nations Government — Developed a trial monitoring training course approved by the UN
+ 7 more
strategies · 4
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Legal Intervention as a Tool for Systemic Justice Changemethodology: systemic_legal_reformBy deploying sustained legal interventions—including trial monitoring, litigation, and free legal aid—we advance justice for women and journalists, because legal systems can be reshaped through coordinated, multi-pronged advocacy across courts and institutions.
- Protective Visibility Through Public Recognitionmethodology: protective_spotlightBy publicly honoring human rights defenders through The Albies, we produce protective effects for those at risk, because increased global visibility deters persecution and amplifies their cause.
- Technology-Enhanced Access to Justicemethodology: technology_and_justiceBy co-developing AI-powered legal tools with survivors and local experts, we scale access to justice for women and journalists, because technology designed participatively overcomes structural barriers to legal empowerment.
- Women-Led Legal Empowerment and Leadership Developmentmethodology: women-led legal empowermentBy training and deploying early-career African women lawyers to lead legal aid and advocacy efforts, we advance women's rights and systemic reform, because local, women-led initiatives generate more effective and sustainable change in discriminatory legal environments.