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Iván Espinoza-Madrigal

Executive Director

Iván Espinoza-Madrigal is the Executive Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) in Boston, an organization founded at the request of President John F. Kennedy in the 1960s at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. LCR is one of the largest and oldest organizations in New England working on legal and policy issues at the intersection of racial justice, immigration, public health, and entrepreneurship. LCR is a recent MacKenzie Scott grant recipient.

Best known for his work at the intersection of civil rights and immigration, Iván has 20 years of experience in complex federal and appellate litigation. He has represented a wide range of clients, as both plaintiffs and defendants, in the corporate and non-profit sectors. His work spans across immigration, education, housing, workplace justice, voting rights, public health, entrepreneurship, and LGBTQ+ rights.

Iván is an expert in legal protections for people of color and immigrants. He has filed and won dozens of life-changing and law-changing cases across the country. He regularly advises policymakers on the legal needs of marginalized communities. His work is frequently featured in publications such as the New York Times, and documentary films like Martha’s Vineyard v. DeSantis (MSNBC). He has also been recognized as “Lawyer of the Year” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and “Bostonian of the Year” by the Boston Globe.

A sought-after thought leader, Iván speaks nationally on racial justice, immigration, and small business issues. He often focuses on the legal needs of people who identify across intersecting lines of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and immigration status.

Early in his career, Iván worked as an associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, where he focused on securities litigation for corporate clients in New York. He also worked with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), where he focused on a wide range of civil rights cases in San Antonio, Texas.

At a pivotal time in the movement for LGBTQ+ equality, Iván joined Lambda Legal to work on marriage equality cases and with LGBTQ+ people of color. He also served as the Legal Director of the Center for HIV Law and Policy, focusing on the legal needs of people living with HIV.

Iván clerked for Judge Ronald Ellis in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and Judge Eric Clay in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Detroit, Michigan.

A summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he received a Juris Doctor from NYU School of Law, where he was a Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar. In 2023, he received an honorary doctorate from Cambridge College.

Iván currently serves on the Board of Ambassadors of Eastern Bank; the Board of Directors of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA); and the Advisory Board of the Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston. He was recently appointed to the Governing Council of the Mass Cultural Council. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Crossroads, a youth empowerment summer camp.

Iván recently published a book about his dog, Obie’s Adventures in the Berkshires. The book was selected as a 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist for LGBTQ+ Fiction.

Read Iván’s profile in the Boston Business Journal, and his posts on Cognoscenti, Huffington Post, and The Progressive. Follow him on Twitter. 

Academic Appointments:

  • Senior Fellow in Residence, Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy, Boston College Law School (2021)
  • Visiting Researcher, Immigration Clinic, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law (2021)

Honors & Awards:

  • Honorary Doctorate, Cambridge College (2023)
  • Bostonian of the Year, Boston Globe (2023)
  • Lawyer of the Year, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2022)
  • Boston’s 100 Most Influential People, Boston Magazine (2021 & 2023)
  • Top Lawyers, Boston Magazine (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025)
  • President’s Award, Boston Bar Association (2020 & 2023)
  • Beacon Award, Boston Bar Association (2017)
  • Top 40 Under 40, Boston Business Journal
  • LGBT Trailblazer Award, Boston Business Journal
  • Ohtli Award, Government of Mexico
  • Alfonso García Robles Award, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
  • Martin Luther King Award in Social Justice, University of Pennsylvania
  • Boston’s 100 Most Influential People of Color
  • Boston’s 50 Most Influential Attorneys of Color
  • Boston’s 50 Most Influential Men of Color
  • Boston’s 25 Most Influential LGBTQ+ People of Color
  • Portraits of Pride, Boston LGBTQ+ Museum of Art, History & Culture
  • Top 100 Most Influential People, Poz Magazine
  • 100 Most Influential People for the Latino Community, El Planeta
  • Top 100 Influencers: Rising Stars Across The Nation, The Business Journals
  • Ally of the Year, Centro Presente
  • Community Service Award, Brazilian Workers’ Center
  • Inspiring Leader Award, Hyde Square Task Force
  • Founder’s Award, The Welcome Project
  • Fair Housing Open Door Champion Award, CHAPA
  • Social Justice Award, ACEDONE
  • Progressive Leadership Award, Progressive Massachusetts
  • Community Champion Award, MIRA
  • 50 For 50 Honoree, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA)
  • Community Service Award, Queens Pride House
  • Top 100 Latinx Leaders, Amplify Latinx
  • Hispanic Heritage Month Latinx Amplifier, Amplify Latinx
  • Edwin D. Wolf Award, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
  • Hispanic Heritage Month Recognition, Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA)
  • Honorary Lifetime Membership, MAMLEO
  • 40 Under 40 Rising Stars, NYU School of Law
  • OUTLaw Alumnus of the Year Award, NYU School of Law
  • LaLSA Alumni Recognition Award, NYU School of Law
  • 21st Century Fellow, Rockwood Leadership Institute
  • Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40, National LGBT Bar Association