A new report from the Alliance for Consumers (AFC) reveals how left-wing legal activists have hijacked America’s courts, converting them into a “parallel lawmaking apparatus” that imposes policy mandates through litigation rather than legislation.
The report, titled Lawfare in America, provides examples of how left-wing legal groups are bringing carefully-constructed cases in specific venues to smuggle in “policy changes that advocates have been unable to achieve through democratic processes.” In other words, after voters rejected radical left policies at the ballot box, an alliance of liberal lawyers and judges is using the legal system as a Trojan Horse to force those same policies on the American people.
What makes this strategy significant, the report argues, is that these lawsuits are not primarily about compensating victims or resolving discrete disputes. Instead, they are designed from the outset “to achieve systemic policy changes.” Rather than remedying a past harm and closing the case, they impose forward-looking mandates that reshape how corporations operate, how governments regulate, and even what products consumers can access.
In the report’s words, courtrooms across America have become “a primary battleground for the Left’s ongoing campaign to reshape American society.”
At the center of this trend are settlement agreements and consent decrees. In ordinary litigation, a settlement might involve paying damages to a plaintiff. But the report documents how modern strategic litigation frequently goes much further. These settlements often require companies or government agencies to create new compliance offices, implement mandatory training programs, overhaul hiring practices, submit to outside monitoring, and report regularly to the court.
These agreements can last for years or even decades, effectively locking in policies that were never enacted by elected representatives. As the AFC report explains, these settlements function as “de facto legislation,” binding institutions to rules and requirements that legislatures never approved.
One of the clearest examples involves Alphabet, Google’s parent company. In a shareholder derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of union pension funds and other investors, plaintiffs alleged that company leadership enabled and concealed sexual harassment. The case settled in 2020.
But rather than simply compensating shareholders, Alphabet agreed to commit $310 million over ten years to internal “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” initiatives — at the time the largest such corporate commitment ever. The settlement created a DEI advisory council that included outside figures and restructured reporting and oversight systems inside the company. An attorney for the plaintiffs declared that the agreement “fundamentally alters Alphabet’s workplace policies,” positioning the company to lead in “workplace equity.”
The report argues that whatever the merits of the underlying allegations, the effect was to expand DEI mandates at one of the largest corporations in the world through litigation rather than through shareholder vote or legislative debate. It was systemic rather than individual, prospective rather than retrospective, and permanent rather than temporary — all hallmarks of what the report calls modern lawfare.
A similar pattern emerged in a 2025 class-action lawsuit against Mastercard. Employees alleged pay disparities, and the company agreed to a $26 million settlement. But beyond monetary compensation, the agreement required review and revision of hiring practices, retention of outside experts, changes to internal promotion requirements, guaranteed access for plaintiffs’ counsel to meet with management regarding pay equity, and ongoing court oversight of future employment practices.
The report contends that such terms amount to long-term policy reform imposed under threat of massive liability.
The strategy does not stop at corporate hiring policies, either. Environmental and climate litigation, the report argues, represent an even more egregious abuse of court power. In City and County of Honolulu v. Sunoco, Honolulu sued major oil companies, alleging that their products contributed to climate-related damage such as sea level rise and infrastructure costs. The city seeks monetary damages, the creation of cleanup funds, disgorgement of profits, and court-ordered climate mitigation measures.
In practical terms, such cases ask judges to oversee aspects of national energy policy — a responsibility that rightfully belongs to legislatures and regulatory agencies.
In Louisiana, Plaquemines Parish and other coastal parishes have also sued energy companies over alleged environmental damage dating back decades. One case has already resulted in a $745 million state court judgment, with others still pending – including one before the Supreme Court.
The report argues that these lawsuits aim not merely to compensate for localized harm but to reshape the energy industry through judicial fiat.
Another case cited in the report involves litigation against the state of Georgia over coverage of transgender-related health procedures in the state employee health plan. The settlement required policy changes barring the state from adopting similar exclusions in the future and redefining coverage terms in a manner preferred by activist groups.
According to the report, this demonstrates how advocacy organizations can bypass legislative processes and achieve contested healthcare policy goals through the courts.
A key feature of this ecosystem, the report notes, is financial incentive. “Strategic litigation is financially lucrative for the law firms involved,” it states.
Contingency fee arrangements can generate tens or hundreds of millions in attorney fees. Settlements often require defendants to fund ongoing compliance programs and outside consultants, creating additional revenue streams. Those funds, the report argues, frequently flow back into political donations and further litigation, reinforcing the cycle. In short, each lawsuit funds the next lawsuit.
The broader concern raised by the report is not merely about any one policy outcome, but about democratic accountability. When policy is made through litigation rather than legislation, elected representatives do not vote on the mandates, and voters cannot easily hold anyone accountable. Consent decrees can entrench policies long after public opinion shifts, because unlike statutes, they are not subject to ordinary democratic amendment.
The report concludes that this represents a profound shift in governance. Courts designed to resolve disputes are increasingly asked to supervise complex policy areas — from employment practices to environmental regulation to healthcare coverage — substituting judicial authority for democratic consent.
Whether one agrees with every policy implicated in these cases, the underlying question remains the same: Should sweeping, long-term policy changes be imposed through negotiated settlements under threat of massive liability, or should they be debated and enacted through the democratic process?
As the AFC report lays out, restoring the proper role of courts requires recognizing that lawfare has become a systematic effort to accomplish through litigation what activists could not secure at the ballot box. It is time for the other branches of government to fulfill their constitutional role of acting as a check on that abuse of power.
Sarah Katherine Sisk is a proud Hillsdale College alumna and a master’s student in economics at George Mason University. You can follow her on X @SKSisk76.
