Ebony Griffin-Guerrier, Counsel at Singleton Schreiber, authored “Lawyering With, Not For: Why Community Voices Are the Foundation of Powerful Advocacy,” published by Singleton Schreiber.
In the article, Griffin-Guerrier argues that the most effective impact litigation begins within affected communities, not law offices. She emphasizes that residents living with environmental contamination, corporate negligence, and systemic harm are experts in their own lived experience, and that lawyers serve as strategic partners who amplify community truth through legal tools and institutional access. The piece underscores the importance of trust-building, early relationship development, and framing harm through human impact rather than financial metrics alone.
As Griffin-Guerrier writes, “Communities hold the knowledge. Lawyers bring the tools.”
On Thursday, what began as a routine morning at the Hillsboro data center outside of Portland, Oregon turned into a five-hour battle against burning lithium-ion batteries that reveals critical gaps in how we regulate and prepare for the toxic risks posed by large-scale battery facilities.
The Hillsboro facility, reportedly leased by Elon Musk’s X for data storage including servers and networking infrastructure, became the site of a dangerous lithium fire on May 29. Fire crews were ultimately forced to abandon direct suppression efforts, instead working to contain the perimeter while allowing the battery bank to burn itself out.
The thick, toxic smoke and the fire's resistance to traditional suppression methods highlight a troubling reality: lithium-ion battery fires don't behave like ordinary fires, and our emergency response systems aren't adequately prepared for them.