CHICAGO, Nov. 7, 2022 — The American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will honor Jennifer C. Pizer, chief legal officer of Lambda Legal, with its Stonewall Award during a ceremony on Feb. 4, 2023, at the ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans.
Named after the New York City Stonewall Inn police raid and riot of June 28, 1969, which was a turning point in the gay rights movement, the award recognizes lawyers who have considerably advanced lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in the legal profession and successfully championed LGBT legal causes.
Pizer is the chief legal officer of Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest legal organization working to achieve full civil rights for LGBTQ people and people living with HIV in the United States. She leads Lambda Legal’s nationwide team of 44 legal professionals who litigate impact cases, develop legislation and partner with lawmakers and community advocates to advance nondiscrimination protections. Pizer joined Lambda Legal’s staff in 1996 and since then has been a leading voice for domestic partner recognition and the freedom to marry for same-sex couples; for welcoming LGBTQ refugees; and for stopping the misuse of religious and free speech rights as licenses to discriminate in public life.
She has taught law school courses, given presentations for the U.S. State Department and advised those seeking protections for LGBTQ people in other countries. Pizer also currently serves as board co-chair of Outright International, which conducts research, movement resourcing and advocacy to secure human rights for LGBTQ people globally.
From 2011-12, Pizer served as legal director of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law; before joining Lambda Legal, she worked for a San Francisco firm, was legal director of the National Abortion Rights Action League and clerked for Judge Ann Aldrich of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Pizer has a B.A. from Harvard College and J.D. from the New York University School of Law.
You can find a photo of Pizer here.
The ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity leads the ABA’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and full and equal participation by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the ABA, the legal profession and society. Created in 2007, the commission seeks to secure equal treatment in the ABA, the legal profession and the justice system without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.