Recognition
Local American Constitution Society Honors
LAS–ELC President Joan Messing Graff
In recognition for her tireless work on behalf of low-wage workers, Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center President Joan Graff has been named as the recipient of the 2011 Direct Service Award by the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society. Graff was given the award at the ACS’s 2nd Annual Gala on March 1 alongside two other honorees, Maggie Crosby, Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Northern California received the 2011 Impact Litigation Award, and Rachel Moran, Dean of UCLA Law School, received the 2011 Academic Award.
The Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center is oldest legal services organization in the Western United States and Graff has been at the helm for 30 years. During that time, she has overseen the expansion of the organization’s mandate to address every single type of employment rights issue facing low wage workers in this country, as well as a remarkable growth in staff and services provided.
Founded in 2001, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy is one of the nation’s leading progressive legal organizations, promoting the fundamental values of individual rights and liberties, equal access to justice and the vitality of the U.S. Constitution. The Bay Area Lawyer Chapter is one of the nation’s largest and most active. The ACS event was held at the UC Hastings College of Law and featured a keynote address by Dean Frank H. Wu.