Cleary and TLDEF File Amicus Brief in Support of Transgender Teens’ and Their Doctors’ Challenge to Arkansas Law Banning Gender-Affirming Care

Cleary Gottlieb and The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) filed a “friend of the court” amicus brief on January 19, 2022, on behalf of 58 transgender and nonbinary adults in support of plaintiffs in the Eighth Circuit case Brandt v. Rutledge.

The brief’s amici stand behind a group of transgender youth and their doctors who are challenging Arkansas Act 626, a law that prohibits medical providers from providing gender-affirming care to minors.

In the brief, amici share their stories about how gender-affirming care has changed their lives for the better and argue that the Eighth Circuit should affirm the Eastern District of Arkansas’ preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of Act 626. The brief highlights the incredible contributions amici have made to their communities, the hardships of gender dysphoria, and the joys of transitioning.

TLDEF has long partnered with Cleary in their advocacy for transgender rights. In addition to this case, they have co-authored amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court in Grimm v. Gloucester and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The brief was written with the support of 58 signatories from wide-ranging backgrounds. Signatories include actor Elliot Page, media personality Jazz Jennings, activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, and filmmaker Lilly Wachowski.

Read the brief here.