About Landmark Legal

Great Plains Legal Foundation established in Kansas City, Missouri.  First President was future U.S. Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond.

Great Plains fought the Carter Administration’s massive regulatory agenda through public education, agency comments, and litigation.

Great Plains merges with Gulf States Legal Foundation to form Great Plains and Gulf States Legal Foundation.

Great Plains/Gulf States becomes Landmark Legal Foundation.

Landmark successfully challenges Omaha, Nebraska’s city ordinance granting the local plumber’s union authority to issue plumbing licenses.  The case is decided by the Eighth Circuit of Appeals and clears the way for independent plumbers throughout the Midwest to operate their businesses free from union interference and corruption.

Landmark represents Kansas City, Missouri taxpayers in the public school system’s desegregation litigation.  The Foundation successfully challenged a federal district judge’s direct levy of income and property taxes to finance desegregation costs.  Later, Landmark represented local parents and African American organizations (including the local Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Urban League) challenging the district court’s quota system.

The nation’s first school choice program, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Plan, is defended by Landmark Legal Foundation.  Throughout the litigation, Landmark represented the program’s author, State Representative Annette “Polly” Williams.  Beginning in 1996, the Foundation fought for and won an expansion in the program to allow children access to religious schools, which greatly expanded school choice in Milwaukee.

Mark Levin joins Landmark Legal Foundation.  Levin serves as the Foundation’s president and board of director member from 1996-2017.  Mark currently leads Landmark’s board of directors.

In response to a wave of political scandals in the Clinton Administration, Landmark used the Freedom of Information Act, litigation, public education, and regular media appearances to educate the public and defend the Rule of Law against abuses by administration officials, including Bill and Hillary Clinton.  Landmark was prominent in matters ranging from Clinton Impeachment; the Whitewater and Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan frauds; the FBI files abuses; the Travel Office Firings; the President’s obstruction of justice in civil litigation; and more.

The Foundation sought public records from the EPA relating to improper environmental special interest group influence over the Clinton Administration’s regulations and litigation activities.  EPA violated a federal district court order to preserve EPA administrator Carol Browner’s computer hard drive.  The EPA destroyed Browner’s and other senior EPA officials’ computer records hours after Landmark secured a restraining order.  Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the EPA to pay Landmark $210,000 in attorney’s fees.

Efforts by the Clinton Administration and members of Congress waged a campaign of intimidation against conservative groups by secretly demanding that the IRS conduct politically motivated audits.  Landmark exposed the scandal through the Freedom of Information Act and federal litigation.

Landmark conducted a series of investigations into unreported political expenditures by the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers’ during the 1990’s and early 2000’s.  The Foundation’s efforts led to a multi-year audit of the NEA’s tax returns and to the reporting of tens of millions of dollars in previously secret political expenditures by both unions.

The Foundation’s investigations into unreported teacher union political expenditures expanded into state and local unions.  Our work discovered that numerous affiliates spent millions of dollars on taxable political activities without reporting them to the IRS as required by law.  Many faced fines, penalties, and IRS audits.

Landmark sought and published public records regarding attacks by Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees against American personnel.  Our work revealed multiple dangerous attacks during a time when the U.S. media obsessed over detainee treatment.

Landmark investigated “Labor Centers” at public universities including the University of Wisconsin, University of California-Berkley, University of Iowa, and many more.  In case after case, the Foundation found that these centers improperly used millions of taxpayer dollars to train labor union members to become political activists.  We reported our findings to legislators and in many states fundamental reforms resulted, including the elimination of the program at Evergreen College in Washington State.

Obamacare Litigation.  Landmark argued at all levels of federal court that the individual mandate as a violation of the Commerce Clause.  Once an appellate judge wrote in a concurring opinion in one of the many Obamacare challenges that the individual mandate might be upheld as a tax, Landmark turned its attention to that issue.  In his infamous decision upholding Obamacare, Chief Justice Roberts and the four liberals then on the Court agreed with the tax theory.  Landmark was one of only two (out of nearly 200 friend of the court briefs filed in the case) parties addressing the tax issue, arguing that it could not be considered a constitutionally permitted tax.

Landmark supports state efforts to support federal immigration laws.  Landmark’s work in this area began in Arizona, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina.  With the Biden Administration’s abdication of immigration enforcement, Landmark is reengaging in this fight.

The Foundation opposes federal regulatory overreach, particularly those by the EPA, which under the Obama Administration and already under the Biden Administration seeks to expand its authority beyond that delegated by Congress.  Landmark is a leading opponent of the “Chevron Doctrine,” which gives federal agencies an unconstitutional advantage in cases challenging improper government regulations.  Landmark fought Obama’s regulations that effectively prohibited the construction of coal-fired power plants, that would have puddles of water declared “navigable waterways” subject to federal regulation, and many more.

EPA FOIA II.  Landmark sought records of communications between Obama EPA officials and special interest environmental groups. EPA refused to conduct adequate searches for records, withheld records located, and concealed records by allowing senior officials to set up phony email accounts or use private email accounts to conduct official business.  EPA’s misconduct in this case led to a second sanctions order and attorney fee award to Landmark.

Voting Rights Act and Voter ID litigation.  Landmark supported the State of North Carolina’s challenge of the Voting Rights Act requirement that the federal government approve even the most minor changes in the state’s voting processes.  Under the VRA, North Carolina and many other, mostly southern states, from determining who would work polls, where a polling place would be located, or the like.  The Supreme Court agreed.  In addition to North Carolina, Landmark worked with the states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona on voter identification measures.

Landmark received numerous reports from Tea Party activists that the IRS was harassing them when they applied for IRS recognition as advocacy organizations.  Landmark filed a complaint with the IRS Inspector General’s office.  The resulting report led to a series of successful legal challenges and the removal of the IRS’s most senior tax-exempt division personnel.

The Foundation submitted Freedom of Information Act requests to multiple federal agencies seeking records indicating the use of private or alias email addresses for the conduct of official agency business.  The requests led to litigation against the Department of Justice, Health and Human Services, and the Department of Labor, all of which acknowledged the practice, but refused to search for records.  HHS claimed Landmark’s request would be “time consuming” and “tedious.”

Landmark Election Integrity Project Launched.  The Foundation’s focus is on ensuring that only eligible U.S. citizens register to vote and that only legitimate votes are counted.  Our focus is on protecting states’ constitutional authority to ensure that voter registrations are accurate and properly maintained and to protect the integrity of their elections.  Landmark is fiercely dedicated to opposing any effort to nationalize elections.

Angel Family Advocacy.  Beginning with litigation challenging the Trump Administration’s expansion of the existing border wall along the southern United States, Landmark is working with families who have lost loved ones to crimes committed by individuals who are in the United States illegally.