Professional firebrand Norman Siegel speaks—and loudly—for progressive causes in New York City, whether it's with the NYCLU or as a candidate for public advocate.

Siegel's activism started early. A Borough Park native, he joined the ACLU after graduating from NYU Law in 1968. As part of the group's Southern Justice & Voter Law Project, he tackled civil rights issues; he later left to be field director for the New York Civil Liberties Union where he led an impeachment campaign against President Nixon and even once showed up at the summer cabin of Supreme Court Justice William Douglas to beg him to stop the U.S. bombing of Cambodia. In 1985, Siegel was named the group's executive director. He spent more than 15 years butting heads with city authorities—most notably former NYU classmate Rudy Giuliani—over police brutality and free speech issues. After several failed attempts at running for New York City Public Advocate, he founded his own law firm with several colleagues. After decades of waging dozens of battles in the public eye, he's now focused on taking on clients who can't afford a lawyer—and don't have much of a chance of winning their cases, either. [Image via Getty]