CHRISS RECEIVES NATIONAL LGBTQ+ BAR ASSOCIATION’S “40 BEST LGBTQ+ LAWYERS UNDER 40” AWARD

Director of SLC’s Transgender Rights Initiative, Simone Chriss, was recently selected by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association as one of the “40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” award recipients for 2022. Awardees will be recognized during the 2022 Lavender Law® Conference in Los Angeles, California.

Each year, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association recognizes LGBTQ+ legal professionals under the age of 40 who have distinguished themselves in their field and have demonstrated a profound commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. The National LGBTQ+ Bar, which is a national association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals which promotes justice in and through the legal profession for the LGBTQ+ community, put out the following statement:

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 final full class of 2022 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 reflects our organizational commitment to supporting and lifting up those attorneys, who, in addition to being excellent LGBTQ+ lawyers with a deep commitment to giving back to the LGBTQ+ community, fairly represent identities of our most marginalized populations.

Chriss was the only attorney chosen from the state of Florida, and one of only a handful who practices law in the south.

“We are thrilled that Simone’s work in the area of LGBTQ+ rights, and particularly defending the rights of transgender individuals in Florida, has become nationally recognized,” said SLC Executive Director Jodi Siegel.

Chriss was honored to receive this recognition and to follow in the footsteps of so many champions in the field of LGBTQ+ rights.

“We have become statewide leaders in this area and have had the privilege of collaborating with the leading national LGBTQ+ organizations to challenge the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ discriminatory measures in Florida in recent years,” Chriss said.

Among those recommending Chriss for this award was Lambda Legal’s Tara Borelli, who has led the charge on countless precedent-setting LGBTQ+ rights cases across the country, and who has long been a personal hero to Chriss.