Whip and Ride: The Hard-Charging Early Years of the Institute for Justice
New Book Spotlights the Founding and Growth of the Institute for Justice
New Release
Whip and Ride:The Hard-Charging Early Years of the Institute for Justice
Whip and Ride tells the story of how a small group of visionary founders built one of the nation’s most influential public interest law firms, transforming the legal landscape through tenacious advocacy for individual liberty.
Published by the Institute for Justice.
Meet the Author
Melanie Hildreth
Melanie Hildreth is a longtime IJ writer, development leader, and author of Whip and Ride.
Institute for Justice
“Whip and Ride grew from the understanding that so much of why—and how—IJ does what it does can be found in the stories of its early years. My hope is that people who know IJ today will come away from the book with a clearer sense of where the organization came from: the clients, cases, and hard-won lessons that shaped it.”
Introduction
Whip and Ride: The Hard-Charging Early Years of the Institute for Justice tells the story of how a small group of visionary founders built one of the nation’s most influential public interest law firms. Through pivotal decisions, defining moments, and unforgettable personalities, the book captures the entrepreneurial spirit, risks, and lessons that shaped IJ’s rise. More than a history, Whip and Ride preserves the culture and values that fueled IJ’s success, offers guidance as the organization enters a new era of growth, and serves as an inspiring case study for nonprofit leaders, supporters, and champions of liberty alike.
A Backyard Promise
In 1983, Chip Mellor was fired. He returned from lunch to find his office cleared out, his belongings in a box, and his boss refusing to speak with him. Not long after, his friend and colleague Clint Bolick showed up at his house—angry, reckless, and ready to walk out of his own job in solidarity. They sat in Chip’s backyard and made each other a promise.
They would build an organization dedicated to a strategic, long-term, principled and libertarian approach to public interest law. The kind of organization, they had learned the hard way, that didn’t yet exist.
Eight years later, they founded the Institute for Justice.
Whip and Ride recounts the cases, clients, and fights that turned that backyard promise into a national public interest law firm:
The D.C. hair braider who watched a small businessman fight the city for his right to earn a living and thought, that’s me.
The Milwaukee mother whose son bounced through 13 schools in 12 years and swore to do better for her other children.
The New York van drivers who helped their communities get to work, even when the buses stopped running.
The Atlantic City widow who fought to keep her home from being bulldozed for a casino parking lot.
And the young lawyers who believed these cases—and many more—were worth taking before anyone had proved they could be won.
For those who know what IJ stands for but not where it came from, this is that story.
Whip and Ride Photos
IJ Client Quotes
“From the very first day my neighbors and I met with IJ, they said they would never abandon us and that they would fight for our homes no matter how long it took. They never let us down during those stressful seven years, and I know they’ve done the same thing for thousands of other property owners across the country.”
Susette Kelo
IJ Client and Lead Plaintiff, Kelo v. New London
“Working with IJ was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. It transformed me and fellow van operators into advocates for fairness and opportunity. IJ recognized the struggles of commuter van operators in America’s largest city and joined with us to boldly challenge monopolies, public unions, and political interests that stood in our way. Today, the vans roll, and operators and riders are respected.”
Hector Ricketts
IJ Client and NYC Van Driver
“The Institute for Justice is a different kind of advocacy group. From the start, it fully incorporated parents as partners, amplifying their voice and real-world struggle to get access to a quality education for their kids. What kicked off in Milwaukee, with our Parental Choice Program, soon went nationwide thanks to IJ.”
Zakiya Courtney
IJ Client and Milwaukee School Choice Mom
“For 10 years, D.C. fought to keep us out of business so it could protect a cosmetology cartel from competition. Then, in 1991, the Institute for Justice took us on as its very first clients. IJ gave definition to our struggle. We were fighting for ‘economic liberty.’ With those two words as our focus, IJ started a movement.”
Taalib Din Uqdah and Pamela Ferrell
IJ Clients and Owners of Cornrows & Company
A Conversation with the Author
Watch Melanie Hildreth, Scott Bullock, and George Will discuss the pivotal moments that defined IJ’s first decade and the lessons for today’s advocates.
Author Interview — Whip and Ride