She grew up in Texas public schools, went on to Baylor and Georgetown, and now leads Democracy Forward, a legal team built to stare down government overreach in court. From fighting funding freezes to pushing back on threats to voting rights and civil liberties, Perryman has quietly stitched together big coalitions and high‑impact cases that helped earn her a spot on TIME’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In this 2‑minute episode, we trace how she left private practice for public‑interest law, why her stint at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists became a turning point, and how her team is now targeting the most aggressive attempts to roll back democratic norms—without giving away every win along the way. Press play to meet the attorney trying to prove that the law can still be a weapon for democracy, not just against it.