Iván Espinoza-Madrigal tapped to lead Lawyers’ Committee

The board of directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice announced the appointment of Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, a civil rights attorney, as its executive director.

The board of directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice announced the appointment of Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, a civil rights attorney, as its executive director. He will oversee litigation and advocacy work, and lead a distinguished team.

The Lawyers’ Committee is a non-profit legal organization that safeguards the civil, social, and economic liberties of people in Greater Boston and throughout Massachusetts. The organization promotes and protects civil rights through major law reform cases, public policy advocacy, community education and community economic development initiatives.

Over the last decade, Espinoza-Madrigal has combined litigation, policy, communications and alliance-building strategies to promote social change and equality. He is seen as a bridge builder within the civil rights community and across social justice movements, particularly in connection with immigration and LGBT/HIV issues. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Law Journal. He speaks nationally on civil rights issues; contributes to the Huffington Post; and provides legal commentary to CNN, Univision, and Telemundo.

“Iván has impressive experience and a powerful commitment to advancing civil rights,” said Inez H. Friedman-Boyce, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors, and a partner at Goodwin Procter LLP, a member firm. “He has a real passion and unique vision for justice,” said Lisa J. Pirozzolo, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors, and a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, another member firm.

Most recently, Espinoza-Madrigal was the legal director of the Center for HIV Law and Policy; Previously, he worked at Lambda Legal, where addressed the legal needs of LGBT and HIV-affected people of color and low-income people. He also handled MALDEF’s immigrants’ rights docket, including a challenge to Arizona’s immigration law, and a landmark U.S. Supreme Court voting rights case. He was also an associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson LLP, where he defended the first municipal identification card in the country against an attempt to dismantle the program.

He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania, and received a J.D. from NYU School of Law.