Navigating legal processes to change one's name is a different kind of challenge for people who are transgender than it is for others. Social stigmas, taboos, and judgments abound in general towards transgender folk. They often face more challenging roadblocks if they so choose to change names along with genders.

The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) is dedicated to supporting the transgender community in the way of acting specifically on behalf of transgender people to confirm their legal identities. A project of TLDEF's — the “Name Change Project” — is focused on helping transgender people obtain legal recognition for their new names through pro-bono means, with only the cost of the name change relegated to the client.

The project covers five cities in the U.S. and has recently gotten some backing from big-name law firms and media companies. Shearman & Sterling — a law firm in the global community — has signed its name to the TLDEF's Name Change Project. And the firm has also recently announced its partnering with Viacom — the media conglomerate known for its work in civic projects — to further mobilize the Name Change Project's goals.