Washington Legal Foundation

	Washington Legal Foundation
	Basic facts
Location:	Washington, D.C.
Type:	501(c)(3)
Top official:	Contance Claffey Larcher, President and Chief Executive Officer
Year founded:	1977
Website:	Official website

The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.^[1] According to their website, WLF "defend[s] American free enterprise by litigating, educating, and advocating for a free market, a limited and accountable government, individual and business civil liberties, and the rule of law."^[2]

Background

The WLF was founded in 1977 as a free enterprise public interest law firm and policy advocate. According to the group's website as of 2025, the WLF advocates "for a free market, a limited and accountable government, individual and business civil liberties, and the rule of law." This advocacy takes place in a number of legal areas, including administrative procedure, commercial speech, employment law, occupational safety, and securities and corporate governance.^[1]

The WLF provided the following missions statement on its website as of August 2025:^[2]

“

Our mission is to defend American free enterprise by litigating, educating, and advocating for a free market, a limited and accountable government, individual and business civil liberties, and the rule of law.^[3]

”

Leadership

As of August 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at the Washington Legal Foundation:^[1]

Constance Claffey Larcher, president and chief executive officer
Glenn G. Lammi, executive director and vice president of legal studies
Cory L. Andrews, general counsel and vice president of litigation
Jennifer L. Shafer, development manager
Harrison L. Stewart, director of operations

Work and activities

Publication

In 1986, the WLF launched its Legal Studies Division, which is responsible for publishing a variety of papers on contemporary legal issues. The WLF regularly publishes in seven formats. The following are the organization's publication formats:^[4]

Counsel's Advisories are one-page bulletins on what the WLF considers "urgent legal and judicial developments."
Legal Opinion Letters are two-page legal analyses of recent judicial or regulatory issues.
Legal Backgrounders are about particular legal subjects.
Working Papers are 15- to 30-page papers over complex legal issues.
Contemporary Legal Notes are "highly instructional" outlines of legal issues.
Monographs are the most lengthy and complex legal policy papers published by the WLF.
Conversations With... is a written forum for legal experts.

Communication

According to its website, the WLF's Civic Communication program aims to provide Americans, especially those interested in free enterprise, with information about legal issues. These communications take the form of advocacy ads in newspapers and periodicals, media briefings, web seminars, and video commentary on contemporary legal and economic issues.^[5]

Litigation

The WLF considers litigation the "backbone" of its programs. According to the WLF website, it is able to litigate cases and write amicus briefs in fields including commercial free speech, product liability, punitive damages, food and drug law, environmental and property rights law, administrative law, and constitutional law.^[6]

Amicus brief activity

The WLF files amicus curiae briefs in courts throughout the country and across a number of fields.

The following are the cases for which the WLF has filed amicus briefs from 2014 to 2024, according to the WLF website.^[7]

Amicus briefs filed by the WLF, 2014-2024
2014
Halliburton v. Erica P. John Fund First National Bank of Wahoo v. Charvat Exxon Mobil Corp. v. City of New York Allstate Insurance Co. v. Jacobsen Apple, Inc. v. United States Accenture, LLP. v. Wellogix, Inc. Purdue Pharma L.P. v. United States ex rel. May R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Brown Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co. v. Owens Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Ross v. FTC Yates v. United States BP Exploration & Production, Inc. v. Lake Eugene Land & Development, Inc. Esquenazi v. United State ONEOK, Inc. v. Lear Jet, Inc. Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. King v. Burwell
2015
Trinity Wall Street v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Jones v. ConAgra Foods, Inc. Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Celgene Corp. Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises, Inc. Horne v. U.S. Dep’t of Agriculture Dow Chemical Co. v. Industrial Polymers, Inc. Microsoft Corp. v. Baker Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. FDA Quicken Loans Inc. v. Brown BP Exploration & Production Inc. v. United States DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court Amarin Pharma, Inc. v. FDA Suttner v. Crane Co. Grocery Manufacturers Assoc. v. Sorrell Rains v. Stayton Builders Mart, Inc. Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez DeCoster v. United States SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. King Drug Co. of Florence, Inc. United States Telecom Association v. FCC In re Loestrin 24 FE Antitrust Litigation RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. The European Community Thornell v. Seattle Service Bureau, Inc. Tennessee v. FCC; North Carolina v. FCC Amgen, Inc. v. Harris Nestle U.S.A., Inc. v. Doe I al Bahlul v. United States Johnson & Johnson v. Reckis [1.pdf State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. United States ex rel. Rigsby] Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. South Carolina
2016
United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Bible Exxon Mobil Corp. v. State of New Hampshire Black & Decker (U.S.), Inc. v. SD3, LLC and SawStop LLC Casey v. Kaiser Gypsum Co. Flagg v. Stryker Corp. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Graham GlaxoSmithKline LLC v. Allied Services Division Welfare Fund FCA US LLC v. The Center for Auto Safety Deere & Co. v. State of New Hampshire Ziglar v. Abbasi Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar Fox Television Stations, Inc. v. Film On X, LLC Robinson v. Pfizer, Inc. United States v. Clay SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Products, LLC NLRB v. SW General, Inc. BNSF Railway Company v. Tyrrell In re: Flonase Antitrust Litigation Murray Energy Corp. v. EPA National Federation of Independent Business v. Perez Gordon v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Jibe Audio, LLC v. Beats Electronics, LLC T.H. v. Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp. Retail Digital Network, LLC v. Prieto
2017
Jennings v. Rodriguez Figueroa v. BNSF Railway Co. Cordis Corp v. Dunson Kokesh v. Securities and Exchange Commission Fox Television Stations, Inc. v. Film On X, LLC CalPERS v. ANZ Securities, Inc. Bloomingdale’s Inc. v. Vitolo American Municipal Power, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency Conagra Brands, Inc. v. Briseño TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC Phillips v. Honeywell Int’l Inc. Sidney Hillman Health Center of Rochester v. Abbott Laboratories Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis In re Zoloft Products Liability Litigation Leidos, Inc. v. Indiana Public Retirement System, et al. Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund Delisle v. Crane Co. U.S. ex rel. Harman v. Trinity Industries, Inc. McNair v. Johnson & Johnson Pfizer, Inc. v. Rite Aid Corp.
2018
MetLife, Inc. v. Financial Stability Oversight Council United States v. Microsoft Corp. China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh Mercury Casualty Co. v. Jones Lucia v. SEC Chamber of Commerce, et al. v. Department of Labor Quality Systems, Inc. v. City of Miami Retirement Trust In Re: New York City Asbestos Litigation Starr Int’l Co. v. United States American Economy Ins. Co. v. State of New York In re: Motions Seeking Access to 2019 Statements Alcon Laboratories, Inc. v. Cottrell Dolin v. GlaxoSmithKline LLC In re Lipitor Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation United States ex rel. Prather v. Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc. Associated Builders and Contractors of Arkansas v. Perez Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Merus N.V. LabNet v. Department of Labor Monsanto Co. v. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment ConAgra Grocery Products Co. v. The People of California In re Asacol Antitrust Litig. Timbervest LLC v. SEC Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service GlaxoSmithKline LLC v. State of Louisiana Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc. v. NLRB
2019
Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Campie Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman Arguedas v. Seawright American Beverage Assn. v. City and County of San Francisco Erfindergemeinschaft UroPep GbR v. Eli Lilly and Co. FTC v. Shire ViroPharma Inc. In-N-Out Burger, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board Quality Auto Painting Ctr. of Roselle, Inc. v. State Farm Indem. Co. Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com Nielsen v. Preap First Advantage Background Services Corp. v. Superior Court of California Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian Apple, Inc. v. Pepper United States ex rel. Hunt v. Cochise Consultancy, Inc. BNSF Railway Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson Newton v. Parker Drilling Management Services, Inc. Knick v. Township of Scott Love Terminal Partners, L.P. v. United States Kisor v. Wilkie Noel v. Thrifty Payless, Inc. Restoration 1 of Port St. Lucie v. Ark Royal Insurance Co. In re Velox Express, Inc. Burningham v. Wright Medical Group Vugo, Inc. v. City of New York Mozilla Corp. v. FCC Winston & Strawn LLP v. Ramos Domino’s Pizza LLC v. Robles Pfizer, Inc. v. Adamyan Swisher International v. Trendsettah USA Bottini v. San Diego New York v. United Parcel Service, Inc. CTIA—The Wireless Association v. City of Berkeley Nicopure Labs, LLC v. FDA
2020
Moussouris v. Microsoft Ahold U.S.A., Inc. v. Warner Chilcott PLC Missouri Broadcasters Association v. Taylor Facebook, Inc. v. Patel State Farm v. Lara The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia v. City of Philadelphia Frlekin v. Apple, Inc. Latiolais v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc. Marion Healthcare, LLC v. Becton Dickinson & Co. Whole Foods Marketing Group, Inc. v. Molock Allen v. Cooper Comcast Corp. v. NAAAOM Atlantic Richfield v. Christian County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund In re Cigar Association of America City of Oakland v. BP p.l.c. Thole v. U.S. Bank, N.A. Tillage v. Comcast Financial Oversight and Management Bd v. Aurelius Investment, LLC OTO, LLC v. Kho Whelan v. A.O. Smith Corp. Merck & Co. v. HHS Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission United States ex rel. Ruckh v. Salus Rehabilitation, LLC Vogt v. State Farm Life Insurance Company Murray v. American LaFrance, LLC USAID v. Alliance for Open Society International Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Walsh v. BASF Corp. Association for Accessible Medicines v. Becerra Wallace v. Grubhub Hammons v. Ethicon, Inc.
2021
Oracle America, Inc. v. Dep’t of Labor Florence Mussat, M.D., S.C. v. IQVIA, Inc. Dunn v. Genzyme Amazon.com v. Rittmann Comcast v. Mills Banco Safra v. Samarco Mineracao Glaxo Group Limited v. DRIT LP Dannels v. BNSF Railway Co. Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid City of New York v. Chevron Corporation Impax Laboratories LLC v. Federal Trade Commission Burton v. Armstrong Containers Inc. AMG Capital Management, LLC v. FTC Janssen Pharmaceuticals v. A.Y. Ingham v. Johnson & Johnson Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I; Cargill, Inc. v. Doe I Waithaka v. Amazon.com, Inc. Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Connors Goldman Sachs Group v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System BlackBerry v. Pearlstein In re Facebook, Inc. TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez Prairie Rivers Network v. Dynegy Midwest Generation, LLC Comcast Corp. v. Viamedia, Inc. In re: Packaged Tuna Antitrust Litigation Northern Plains Resource Council v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Spegele v. USAA Life Insurance Co. 1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission Laramie v. Philip Morris USA Cessna Aircraft Co. v. Garcia Stromberg v. Qualcomm Inc. Cal Cartage Transportation Express v. California Stars Interactive v. Kentucky New York v. Scalia CVS v. Doe Walmart Inc. v. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
2022
Rocket Mortgage v. Alig BNSF Railway Co. v. Dannels Bank of America v. Fund Liquidation Holdings LLC In re Walmart, Inc. National Federation of Independent Businesses v. OSHA Alphabet Inc. v. Rhode Island Adams v. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. Pulse Network, LLC v. Visa, Inc. ACA Connects v. Bonta City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller Axon v. FTC 3M Co. v. Amador Morgan v. Sundance Boley v. Universal Health Services Eli Lilly Company v. Becerra Southwest Airlines v. Saxon Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana Monsanto Co. v. Hardeman TitleMax v. Vague Monsanto v. Pilliod Coverall North America v. Rivas California Trucking Association v. Bonta Bader Farms, Inc. v. BASF Corp. SEC v. Cochran United States v. Walmart Inc. UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund v. AbbVie Caremark v. Chickasaw Nation U.S. ex rel. Sheldon v. Allergan Molina Healthcare of Illinois v. Prose Alig v. Quicken Loans [https://www.wlf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Starkist-Co.-v.-Olean-Wholesale-Grocery-Coop.-WLF-Amicus-Brief-ISO-cert.pdf StarKist Co. v. Olean Wholesale Cooperative Earl v. The Boeing Co. Trendsettah v. Swisher In re HIV Antitrust Litigation
2023
Coates v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. Supervalu U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway In re Grand Jury AstraZeneca v. HHS Johnson & Johnson v. California Vanderventer v. Hyundai Pivotal Software, Inc. v. Superior Court of California R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Los Angeles In re LTL Management, LLC Vanda Pharmaceuticals v. FDA In re: Niaspan Antitrust Litigation B.P. P.L.C. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore Suncor v. County of Boulder State of New York v. Facebook, Inc. National Pork Producers Council v. Ross Gonzalez v. Google Calcutt v. FDIC Sackett v. EPA Slack Technologies, LLC v. Pirani United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu; United States ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway The Atlanta Opera, Inc. U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources Health Freedom Defense Fund v. Biden Yegiazaryan v. Smagin Coinbase v. Bielski Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. Cooper Tire v. McCall Carson v. Monsanto Abbo-Bradley v. City of Niagara Falls Burgess v. Whang Bert Co. v. Turk Daniels-Feasel v. Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Arkansas Teachers Retirement System v. Goldman Sachs Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. v. Painters Fund In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation Mamani v. Berzain NetChoice, LLC v. Attorney General, State of Florida Avail Vapor v. FDA National Association of Wheat Growers v. Bonta E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Abbott United States v. Facteau Illumina v. FTC LHC Group, Inc. v. Bayer Corp. United States ex rel. Streck v. Eli Lilly
2024
RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Bonta Consumers’ Research v. CPSC Cantor Fitzgerald, LP v. Ainslie In re Meta Platforms, Inc. Murray v. UBS In re The Cordish Company and Bayou Place Limited Partnership Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. v. Moab Partners, LP Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC Minnesota Telecom Alliance v. FCC PhRMA v. McClain Carey v. CSX In re Bystolic Antitrust Litig. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association Cantero v. Bank of America Dunn v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance v. Library of Congress Starbucks v. McKinney Lyft v. Seifu Popa v. PSP Group, LLC Snyder v. United States SEC v. Jarkesy Loper Bright v. Raimondo Moody v. NetChoice; NetChoice v. Paxton Bristol Myers Squibb Co. v. Becerra; Janssen v. Becerra In re JUUL Marketing Sales Practices Calhoun v. Google Union Pacific v. Surface Transportation Board; Association of American Railroads v. Surface Transportation Board X Corp. v. Bonta NicQuid L.L.C. v. FDA Valeant Pharmaceuticals Int’l v. United States ex rel. Silbersher Gulden v. Exxon Mobil Corp. In re Gilead Tenofovir Cases Facebook, Inc. v. Amalgamated Bank R.J. Reynolds v. FDA NVIDIA Corp. v E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB Swinomish Indian Tribal Community v. BNSF N.Y. State Telecomm. Ass’n v. James Amazon.com Services LLC v. NLRB

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.

Finances

The following is a breakdown of the Washington Legal Foundation's revenues and expenses from 2001 to 2023. The information comes from Internal Revenue Service reports.

Washington Legal Foundation financial data, 2001-2023
Year	Revenue	Expenses
2001	$3,846,764	$8,385,652
2002	$4,541,868	$3,208,960
2003	$6,239,789	$3,479,107
2004	$4,959,322	$3,315,799
2005	$4,137,020	$3,462,110
2006	$4,856,175	$3,470,270
2007	$5,315,759	$3,284,940
2008	$4,252,238	$3,792, 119
2009	$3,550,330	$2,706,828
2010	$3,584,443	$14,480,239
2011	$3,878,677	$2,608,237
2012	$3,911,460	$2,612,611
2013	$4,193,657	$2,009,072
2014	$4,365,922	$2,099,753
2015	$4,725,083	$2,132,177
2016	$4,794,798	$2,357,550
2017	$4,301,268	$2,450,099
2018	$3,740,946	$2,410,581
2019	$2,605,351	$2,418,891
2020	$3,823,526	$1,894,020
2021	$3,704,118	$1,706,875
2022	$3,798,630	$1,731,422
2023	$3,555,115	$1,877,680

External links

Washington Legal Foundation website

Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Washington Legal Foundation, "2024 Annual Report," accessed August 5, 2025 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "annual" defined multiple times with different content
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Washington Legal Foundation, "About," accessed August 5, 2025
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ Washington Legal Foundation, "Publishing," accessed August 5, 2025
↑ Washington Legal Foundation, "Home," accessed August 5, 2025
↑ Washington Legal Foundation, "About WLF Litigation," accessed September 27, 2016
↑ Washington Legal Foundation, "Litigating Cases," accessed August 5, 2025

[annual-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Washington Legal Foundation, "2024 Annual Report," accessed August 5, 2025 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "annual" defined multiple times with different content

[about-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Washington Legal Foundation, "About," accessed August 5, 2025

[quotedisclaimer-3] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[4] Washington Legal Foundation, "Publishing," accessed August 5, 2025

[5] Washington Legal Foundation, "Home," accessed August 5, 2025

[6] Washington Legal Foundation, "About WLF Litigation," accessed September 27, 2016

[7] Washington Legal Foundation, "Litigating Cases," accessed August 5, 2025

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Washington Legal Foundation

Basic facts
Location:	Washington, D.C.
Type:	501(c)(3)
Top official:	Contance Claffey Larcher, President and Chief Executive Officer
Year founded:	1977
Website:	Official website

Washington Legal Foundation

Contents

Background

Leadership

Work and activities

Publication

Communication

Litigation

Amicus brief activity

Notable endorsements

Finances

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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