The
Christic Institute was a public interest
law firm founded in 1980 by
Daniel Sheehan, his wife, Sara Nelson and their partner, William J. Davis, a
Jesuit priest, after the successful conclusion of their work on the
Silkwood case. Based on the ecumenical teachings of
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and on the lessons they learned from their experience in the Silkwood fight, the Christic Institute combined investigation, litigation, education and organizing into a unique model for social reform in the United States. Christic represented victims of the nuclear disaster at
Three Mile Island; they prosecuted
KKK members for killing civil rights demonstrators in the
Greensboro Massacre, and they defended
Catholic workers providing sanctuary to Salvadoran refugees (American
Sanctuary Movement). Its headquarters were based in
Washington, D.C. with offices in several other major United States cities. The Institute received funding from a nationwide network of grass-roots donors, as well as organizations like the
New World Foundation.