Vivek Maru

Vivek Maru is founder and CEO of Namati, the leading global organization dedicated to legal empowerment. Namati works on the ground in seven countries, from Myanmar to the United States, and convenes the Grassroots Justice Network, a community of 4000+ justice organizations from over 175 countries. Vivek and Namati have been recognized with the Human Rights Global Treasure Award, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the World Economic Forum’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Global Pluralism Award, and the $20 million Racial Equity 2030 Prize. A graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law, Vivek is the lead author of Community Paralegals and the Pursuit of Justice (Cambridge University Press). He has written for or been featured in The New York Times, CNN, NPR, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Wired, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Foreign Policy, and others. His TED talk, “How to Put the Power of Law in People’s Hands,” has been viewed over 1.3 million times. Vivek is on the road a lot, but he has a home and family in Washington, DC. He tries to spend time in a forest or other natural place every week, wherever he is.

Our common humanity

We can't protect basic rights or steward the planet without law. But law is often out of reach for those who need it the most. Barefoot lawyers are a proven way of putting the power of law in the hands of people.

I gave a talk at TED Global in 2017-- thank you Bruno, Helen, Chris, and team!-- and have cherished the community ever since.

I play and teach capoeira. I am always looking for a roda- a circle in which magic can happen.