Deborah Lolai

Deb received her J.D. from Touro Law Center with a Certificate in Criminal Law. Deb was the recipient of the National LGBT Bar Association’s Annual Student Leadership Award in 2014. Throughout her time in law school, she interned at the Public Advocacy Center at Touro Law Center, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Federal Defenders of New York, and the Manhattan Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice. In addition to her internships, Deb was a facilitator for the Center for Restorative Practices and a legal observer with the National Lawyer’s Guild. Deb served as the President of Touro Law Center’s LGBT student organization, on the executive board of the Immigration Law Society, and as a student representative for the Student Bar Association. Deb is currently a member-leader with Jews For Racial and Economic Justice, where she is completed the Grace Paley Organizing Fellowship. Deb is currently a facilitator of the NYC LGBT Direct Services RoundTable, which organizes direct service providers in NYC serving LGBT clients. She established and currently chairs the LGBTQ Working Group at The Bronx Defenders, which aims to serve the specific needs of our LGBTQ clients. In her role at The Bronx Defenders as the LGBTQ Client Specialist, Deb provides direct services for our LGBTQ identified clients, provides internal and external trainings, and engages in community organizing and advocacy efforts to empower our LGBTQ clients, and reduce the harm caused by the various systems they navigate.   Deb is the author of an article on the topic of child support for LGBT homeless youth published in the 2015 edition of the Tulane Journal of Law and Sexuality. She is fluent in Farsi and is conversant in Hebrew and Spanish.