Public Counsel's new CEO girds for next US president -- whoever s/he may be

Public Counsel announced that Kathryn A. Eidmann will be its new CEO, commencing today. Eidmann, who has been with the organization in various roles since 2013, said that her tenure will be focused on expanding the legal nonprofit's work to tackle systemic issues, including those underpinning the homelessness crisis, and preparing for a potential legal battle anticipated under a second Trump administration.

Speaking via phone Tuesday, Eidmann said she was "honored and excited" to be taking the reins after former President and CEO, Mónica Ramírez Almadani was appointed to serve as a federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Eidmann's appointment was announced following a national search to find a leader for the nonprofit public interest law firm, which regularly partners with other law firms. She moves from the role of vice president, chief of litigation and legal programs.

"I think we have a very powerful capacity to not only change individual people's lives, but to address the roots of the injustices that our clients experience," Eidmann replied when asked to outline her goals. "Our system change work is uniquely driven by what's happening on the ground. Moving forward, I recognize that the work of Public Counsel has never been more critical than in these challenging and uncertain times that we find ourselves in and I want to build and amplify the power of Public Counsel to really develop us into the leading force for racial and economic justice, not only in Los Angeles but beyond."

One area of focus is homelessness. Public Counsel is already involved in multiple lawsuits relating to housing policy, including a class action filed on behalf of homeless veterans against the Department of Veterans Affairs, set to go to trial next month. Powers et al. v. McDonough et al., 2:22-cv-08357 (C.D. Cal., filed Nov. 15, 2022).

"Of course, in this moment in our country, in Los Angeles, housing justice is a key priority," Eidmann said. "I see housing justice continuing to be a critical priority for the organization. And an even greater one going forward."

Public Counsel's "history is rooted in Los Angeles and that that's where we're going to remain as an organization," Eidmann said. But she will be trying to ensure that what happens locally has an impact beyond California's borders.

"I think that there are a couple of ways that that plays out," she explained. "Some people call the states laboratories of democracy. We have an incredibly engaged and critical Supreme Court right now, and so state court litigation that we file here ... have important influence nationally among other states who look to California and see the kind of law and precedent that we might develop."

Another way to expand Public Counsel's footprint is to think strategically about filing locations, Eidmann said.

"We file federal cases not only in California but in other states where there aren't organizations like Public Counsel," she explained. "For example, we worked with the Native American Disability Law Center and organizations in Arizona and New Mexico to file a case against the federal government on behalf of the Havasupai tribe, and through that case, we established precedent, nationally, that the federal government has an obligation to provide educational services and comply with its own regulations to Native American students." Stephen C. v. Bureau of Indian Education, 21-15097 (9th Cir. Mar. 16, 2022)

The organization was also working to expand its policy advocacy efforts, Eidmann said. "Our lawyers are very involved in policy advocacy at the state and local level, but also the national level," she explained, and cited Public Counsel's work on championing consumer rights policy as an example.

Legal groups played an outsized role in combating some of the regulatory and policy changes announced under the previous Trump administration, and Eidmann committed Public Counsel to continuing this agenda regardless of the outcome of November's election.

"There is real anxiety and uncertainty about what the upcoming election could mean for our clients and for the funding that supports legal services work and for the policies and precedents that organizations like Public Counsel and others have spent decades building," she acknowledged. "We are committed, regardless of what happens in November, to standing with our clients and standing with the communities with which we partner and ensuring that the fight for justice and equity goes on regardless of what's happening in Washington and what the national landscape looks like."

Prior to joining Public Counsel in 2013, Eidmann was a litigation associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. A 2009 graduate of Yale Law School, she clerked for Judge Thomas B. Griffith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and was a summer law clerk at the American Civil Liberties Union's Reproductive Freedom Project. Her roles at Public Counsel have included director of litigation and senior supervising staff attorney in the Opportunity Under Law project.

Colleagues and members of Public Counsel's board of directors welcomed Eidmann's appointment, stating that her years spent with the organization meant her transfer to the top job would be seamless.

"It was important that our new CEO be able to build on Public Counsel's track record of ensuring justice for clients and communities, both locally and across the country. That means growing the work and maximizing our impact," Tanya Acker, chair of Public Counsel's board of directors, wrote in an email.

"During our nationwide search, we were focused on candidates who could succeed in a number of key areas: overseeing our legal and policy work to ensure maximum success; communicating with both internal and external stakeholders about Public Counsel's current and future needs and strategies; and ensuring that both our financial and our people resources are well positioned to meet the demands of a time when our services are more necessary than ever," Acker explained. She wrote, "Kathryn will excel on all fronts. She knows the work and she knows Public Counsel, and I am thrilled that she is at the helm."

Incoming chair of the board Stacy D. Phillips said that the nationwide recruitment process had involved "more than 100 candidates," some of whom were Americans located overseas. Eidmann had emerged as the standout candidate following a "robust" process consisting of multiple interview rounds and consultations with Public Counsel staff.

"She has class, she has dignity, she has a calmness that I truly admire. She's really smart," Phillips said in a phone call. "She's moved within the organization and grown within the organization, so she knows the organization, and she is well liked by her peers. She's got great integrity."

As well as leading Public Counsel's legal strategy, Phillips said Eidmann would be tasked with growing the organization's network of donors. "We have grown exponentially, and we are doing amazing work, but we need to be able to sustain that and it's not like we're a for-profit organization where we can bring on more people and increase revenue, it doesn't work that way. We have to increase revenue by bringing in more donor dollars," she said.

In a phone call Tuesday, Public Counsel's Senior Special Counsel for Strategic Litigation, Mark Rosenbaum said Eidmann is "probably the most brilliant, innovative strategist whom I've ever worked with."

"I have worked closely with Kathryn for over 10 years. I worked with her briefly when I was at the ACLU, where I worked for 40 years and we litigated some cases together, and she was actually one of the reasons that it was so attractive for me to come to public counsel when I received an offer," Rosenbaum said.

He described Eidmann as kind and a good listener, a key quality required in a lawyer.

"I think individuals trust her because of her qualities of empathy, her qualities of understanding. Sometimes we think of leaders as great speakers, which she is, but she is, first and foremost, a great listener and she respects the work and the dignity of every individual who's in her orbit," he said.