Advocacy
Advocacy means pleading an individual's cause or speaking or writing in support of an individual. Advocacy may be formal, as in the case of a lawyer representing an individual in a court of law or in formal administrative proceedings before government agencies (whether tribal, State, local, or Federal). Advocacy also may be informal, as in the case of a lawyer or non-lawyer representing an individual in negotiations, mediation, or informal administrative proceedings before government agencies (whether tribal, State, local, or Federal), or as in the case of a lawyer or non-lawyer representing an individual's cause before private entities or organizations, or government agencies (whether tribal, State, local, or Federal). Advocacy may be on behalf of -
(1) A single individual, in which case it is individual advocacy;
(2) More than one individual or a group of individuals, in which case it is systems (or systemic) advocacy, but systems or systemic advocacy, for the purposes of this part, does not include class actions, or
(3) Oneself, in which case it is self advocacy.