People's Law Office

People's Law Office (PLO) is a Chicago-based civil rights law firm founded in 1969 by a group of radical attorneys committed to defending the rights of activists, prisoners, and communities targeted by government and law enforcement misconduct. Established during a period of intense political repression, the firm emerged from the legal needs generated by the civil rights, anti-war, and Black liberation movements of the era. PLO has since become one of the most respected and battle-tested civil rights firms in the United States, with a legacy spanning more than five decades of fighting police brutality, government abuse, and systemic injustice.

The firm is perhaps best known nationally for its relentless pursuit of accountability in the Chicago Police Department's systematic torture of Black suspects under the command of Commander Jon Burge from the 1970s through the 1990s. People's Law Office attorneys, including the late Flint Taylor, played a central role in exposing and litigating the Burge torture scandal, in which more than 100 individuals — predominantly Black men — were subjected to electric shock, suffocation, and other forms of torture to extract confessions. The firm's work on these cases ultimately contributed to landmark reparations legislation passed by the City of Chicago in 2015, a historic first in the United States.

Beyond the Burge cases, People's Law Office has represented clients in some of the most high-profile civil rights and police misconduct matters in Illinois and across the country. The firm has litigated cases involving wrongful death at the hands of police, excessive force, false imprisonment, and First Amendment retaliation against political activists and organizers. Their attorneys have also been deeply involved in death penalty defense and post-conviction relief work, successfully freeing wrongfully convicted individuals from death row.

People's Law Office operates with a deeply political and community-oriented philosophy, often taking cases that other firms decline due to their complexity or the power of the opposing governmental entities. The firm continues to serve as a frontline legal resource for individuals and communities seeking justice against law enforcement abuse, maintaining its founding commitment to civil rights and social justice litigation.