Lights, Camera, Live Stream!

By Caitlyn Healy

IJ is taking Partners Club members behind the scenes of the National Law Firm for Liberty in an exciting new way. Last summer, we debuted Partners Club LIVE, a series of live stream conversations that use a dynamic and interactive platform to give Partners a deeper understanding of how IJ turns donor support into major victories for liberty. Partners Club LIVE is streamed exclusively for Partners through IJ’s website.

The most recent LIVE event with IJ Senior Attorney Bob McNamara tackled one of freedom’s biggest courtroom nemeses: the rational basis test. If you have ever wondered why IJ’s economic liberty cases tend to involve slightly off-beat occupations, you’re not alone. Bob explained how these cases play an essential role in IJ’s legal strategy for reclaiming the right to earn an honest living.

Former IJ client and horse-massage entrepreneur Mercedes Clemens joined Bob in the studio. Mercedes shared what it was like to do battle against not one, but two state licensing boards under a virtually impossible legal standard. “It was like being in a Kafka novel,” she said. “Everybody else was using common sense, and this regulatory agency wasn’t. We were forced to interact with their world in order to argue against it.”

After enduring an 18-month legal battle, Mercedes also described what it felt like to beat the government in court. “We won!” she said with a big smile. “The great thing is that the Chiropractic Board backed off from enforcing [the regulation] with other chiropractors as well, so chiropractors in the state of Maryland are no longer being told not to touch animals.”

Partners can submit questions that are answered live during each event. In July, Partners asked IJ President Chip Mellor how we select our cases, how IJ’s annual budget is spent, and what new areas of litigation the Institute might target in the future.

We plan to host Partners Club LIVE several times throughout the year. If you are not a Partners Club member, consider joining so you do not miss the next LIVE event.

Partners Club LIVE is streamed from IJ’s brand new media studio, which was part of the recent building expansion we completed to make room for our growing team. This upgraded facility will take IJ’s video and media production capabilities to new levels of sophistication, helping us spread the message of freedom ever further.

Caitlyn Healy is IJ’s Partners Club Manager