Equal Justice Works News Release

	news release
HOLD FOR RELEASE: March 3, 2008 CONTACT: James Carroll (202) 466-3686 ext. 102	jcarroll@equaljusticeworks.org www.equaljusticeworks.org
EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS NAMES DIANE CHIN DIRECTOR OF WEST COAST OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Equal Justice Works has named civil rights attorney and legal educator Diane Chin director of its California office, the organization’s first location outside of its Washington, D.C., headquarters. She begins her assignment on March 3. As Director of Equal Justice Works/West, Ms. Chin will be based in San Francisco and will initially focus her efforts on the organization’s programs in California. Equal Justice Works runs the largest postgraduate legal fellowship program in the nation and currently has 31 fellows working at legal services organizations in the state. Ms. Chin will provide project support, coordinate training, engage Equal Justice Works alumni and promote closer collaboration among the fellows, their host organizations and sponsors. She also will assist in the recruitment and selection of fellows from the 22 law schools in California that are Equal Justice Works members. “My entire career has been devoted to social justice issues and working with young attorneys who want to serve the public,” said Ms. Chin. “Equal Justice Works is revered in the public interest law community for the work it has been doing for over 20 years. I’m delighted to be part of the organization and looking forward to expanding its reach in California.” Most recently, Ms. Chin served as Associate Director of the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice at the U.C. Berkeley School of Law. Prior to that, she was Director of the Public Service and Public Interest Law Center and a Lecturer at Stanford University Law School. She was also Executive Director for Chinese for Affirmative Action. She began her law career as a staff attorney and Skadden Fellow for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association and then as a staff attorney for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Later she worked as a housing attorney for Protection & Advocacy, Inc. and as a senior trial attorney for the Office of Citizen Complaints, San Francisco Police Commission. Ms. Chin’s juris doctorate is from Northeastern University School of Law, Boston. She has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Mills College, Oakland. She currently serves on the board of Public Advocates and is co-editor of Beyond the Big Firm: Profiles of Lawyers Who Want Something More (Aspen Publishers, 2007). Ms. Chin will report to Equal Justice Works Deputy Chief Executive Officer Paul Igasaki. “We are very fortunate to have someone of Diane’s caliber and reputation lead our efforts in California,” said Mr. Igasaki. “She knows our programs and shares our commitment to equal justice. She will be a great addition to our team.” - end - Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers as well as in urging more public interest programming at law schools. For more information, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org.
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