Each year, the LGBT Bar recognizes LGBTQ+ legal professionals (practicing lawyers, law professors, corporate counsel, members of the judiciary, politicians, etc.) under the age of 40 who have distinguished themselves in their field and have demonstrated a profound commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. Awardees are recognized each year at the Lavender Law® Conference and Career Fair.
The LGBT Bar has a deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe that this critical value should infuse every aspect of our work, including our awardee selection processes. We recognize that the 40 Under 40 awards serve in significant part to identify truly excellent LGBTQ+ lawyers within and to the greater legal community, and in so doing, play an important part in building a pipeline for the future success of LGBTQ+ lawyers. There are far many more worthy candidates nominated each year than the available 40 award slots. The Bar is proud that the final full class of 2021 winners reflects our organizational commitment to supporting and lifting up nominees who, in addition to being excellent LGBTQ+ lawyers, fairly represent identities of our most marginalized populations, including transgender and nonbinary people, people of color, bisexual people, people with disabilities, and women.
Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 – Class of 2021
Charrise L. Alexander
Senior Associate, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Washington, DC
Charlie Arrowood
Name Change Project Counsel, Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
South Huntington, NY
Jordan Blisk
Executive Director & Board Chair, Colorado Name Change Project
Denver, CO
Eric Bowers
Director, Legal – GTM and APAC, Sonos, Inc.
Santa Barbara, CA
Meredith Taylor Brown
Staff Attorney, ACLU LGBT & HIV Project
New York, NY
Jennifer L. Bryant
Associate, Munger, Tolles & Olson
Los Angeles, CA
Caitlin K. Cahow
Associate, Jones Day
Chicago, IL
Carl Charles
Staff Attorney, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.
Atlanta, GA
Craig Convissar
Associate, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
New York, NY
Sara Deskins Tucker
Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
Atlanta, GA
Abdiel Echevarria Caban
Staff Attorney, RAICES
Brownsville, TX
Chris Erchull
Staff Attorney, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
Boston, MA
Kaliko’onalani Fernandes
Deputy Solicitor General, Department of the Attorney General, State of Hawaii
Honolulu, HI
Arleen Fernandez
Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Los Angeles, CA
Sarah Filcher
Staff Attorney, LGBTQ+ Project and HIV/AIDS Project, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley
Newburgh, NY
Aditi Fruitwala
Staff Attorney, LGBTQ, Gender & Reproductive Justice Project, ACLU Foundation of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
J. Remy Green
Partner, Cohen & Green, PLLC
Ridgewood, NY
Nadia Haghighatian
Intellectual Property Associate, Thompson & Knight LLP
Dallas, TX
Tyrone Hanley
Senior Policy Counsel, National Center for Lesbian Rights
San Francisco, CA
Samuel T. Harbourt
Deputy Solicitor General, California Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General
San Francisco, CA
Anjelica Hendricks
Policy Analyst, Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission
Philadelphia, PA
Erica Holzer
Partner, Maslon LLP
Minneapolis, MN
Michael J. Hui
Shareholder, Littler Mendelson
San Francisco, CA
Jeff Kosbie
Associate, Gibbs Law Group
Oakland, CA
Rachel E. Maes
Assistant City Attorney, City of Green Bay
Green Bay, WI
Lisa Nowlin
Staff Attorney, ACLU of Washington
Seattle, WA
Jonathan Olinger
VP & Senior Associate General Counsel, Global Payments Inc.
Atlanta, GA
Daniela Paez
Partner, Ulmer & Berne LLP
Cleveland, OH
Amitesh Parikh
Senior Staff Attorney, Immigration Equality
Brooklyn, NY
Logan Parker
Associate, Clark Hill PLC
Chicago, IL
Milo Primeaux
Principal Attorney, Law Office of Milo Primeaux, Esq.
Dansville, NY
Hillary Rightler
Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Atlanta, GA
Bianca Scherr
Former Assistant District Attorney, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
New York, NY
Harper S. Seldin
Associate, Cozen O’Connor
Philadelphia, PA
Chanakya Sethi
Associate, Wilkinson Stekloff LLP
New York, NY
Aaron J. Spencer
Administrative Law Attorney, U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps
Washington, DC
Dan Tavares Arriola
Deputy District Attorney, San Joaquin County
Stockton, CA
Julie C. Webb
Partner, Locke Lord LLP
Chicago, IL
Jordan Woods
Associate Professor of Law, Faculty Director of the Richard B. Atkinson LGBTQ Law & Policy Program, University of Arkansas School of Law – Fayetteville
Fayetteville, AR
Michael Younker
Supervising Attorney, UnLocal
New York, NY