Iván Espinoza-Madrigal ’05, a staff attorney for Lambda Legal—the oldest and largest national legal organization dedicated to defending and advancing the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender individuals, and people living with HIV—was named one of 40 “Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40” by the National LGBT Bar Association. The group, composed of LGBT attorneys who have distinguished themselves professionally and demonstrated a profound commitment to LGBT equality, was honored on August 25 in Washington, D.C., during the bar association’s annual conference.
At Lambda Legal, Espinoza-Madrigal is developing an initiative on behalf of LGBT people of color, LGBT immigrants, and low-income LGBT communities. "In this capacity, I am addressing the legal needs of LGBT and HIV-affected people who identify across intersecting lines of race and immigration status through litigation and policy advocacy," said Espinoza-Madrigal. "Since LGBT people of color and LGBT immigrants are a growing and increasingly visible part of the vibrant LGBT community, I am very excited that the National LGBT Bar Association has recognized the importance of advancing intersectionality work."
Espinoza-Madrigal speaks and writes nationally on civil rights issues. He was previously a staff attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), where he worked on immigrant rights in Texas and the Southwest. Before MALDEF, he was a litigation associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, where he worked as part of a pro bono team on a high-profile case involving municipal identification cards for undocumented immigrants in New Haven, Connecticut. Espinoza-Madrigal brought the case to the firm's attention. In July 2008, Connecticut's Freedom of Information Commission upheld the team's argument to protect the identities of immigrants with ID cards allowing them access to banking and public services.
Espinoza-Madrigal is co-chair of the HIV Law Project’s board of directors. After graduating from NYU Law, he clerked for Judge Eric Clay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit as well as Judge Ronald Ellis of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Espinoza-Madrigal was a Root-Tilden-Kern Sinsheimer Public Interest Scholar at the Law School. At the University of Pennsylvania, he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor’s in political science and Latin American studies.
This year the National LGBT Bar Association also named Lori Rifkin ’04, senior trial attorney at the Department of Justice, to the list of “Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40.”
Published on August 24, 2012