New Civil Liberties Alliance

New Civil Liberties Alliance
Formation2017; 7 years ago (2017)
FounderPhilip Hamburger
TypeNonprofit
Purpose"To protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State"
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
Location
  • United States
MethodsLegal advocacy
President and Chief Legal Officer
Mark Chenoweth
Revenue (2022)
$4.82 million[1]
Staff
27 (2024)[1]
Websitenclalegal.org

New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public interest law firm founded in 2017 by Columbia Law School professor Philip Hamburger. The group challenges what it views as unlawful uses of administrative power. Bloomberg Law wrote that the group was founded "to fill a gap in the legal ecosystem: the protection of individual rights from entrenched government regulation."[1]

In 2024, legal scholar Jonathan H. Adler said that the NCLA had "become a significant player in a relatively short time by raising some administrative law questions that hadn't been getting as much or a lot of attention."[1] Bloomberg wrote that the group had "quickly emerged as a top US Supreme Court litigator...helping steer a broad high court challenge to government agency power."[1]

The NCLA has argued in favor of overturning Chevron deference, which directs courts in regulatory disputes to defer to a government agency's "reasonable interpretation" when the governing law is ambiguous. Chevron is deferential to government agencies. Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a case which challenges Chevron, will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d e Wheeler, Lydia (January 26, 2024). "Big Donors Back New Group to Fight 'Deep State' at Supreme Court". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  2. ^ Liptak, Adam (15 January 2024). "A Fight Over a Fishing Regulation Could Help Tear Down the Administrative State". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2024.