LaurenAgresti Elizabeth

I'm a litigator and nonprofit legal director who has spent the last decade working across employment, immigration, civil rights, and commercial law. For the last two years, I've been doing what I'd describe as some of the most meaningful work of my career. As Senior Counsel and Director of Legal Services at TASSC International, I lead a growing legal team representing survivors of torture seeking asylum in the United States. In under a year, we tripled our program's capacity, built new partnerships across the DC area, and grew a team from the ground up. Every week, I work with people who have survived the unsurvivable and are navigating one of the most complex, high-stakes legal systems in the world. It is a privilege. Before TASSC, I spent eight years litigating—employment discrimination, civil rights, commercial disputes—at firms across Maryland. I've represented clients in court, before administrative agencies, and in thorny disputes and post-judgment matters. I care a great deal about where this profession is headed with respect to access to justice, legal tech, and the preservation of the rule of law. I've been using the em dash since before it was uncool. I post my thoughts here when I can't help myself, which is increasingly often.