July 2026 – Kendall Brill & Kelly LLP Partner Laura W. Brill has been recognized by legal media company Lawdragon in its 2026 guide to the 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers. The award annually recognizes legal advocates who “continue to fight the fight in some very bleak times – at least for those of us who believe in equality, civility, and opportunity.”
Ms. Brill is a founding Kendall Brill & Kelly Partner who has secured precedent-setting victories in numerous appearances before state and federal courts.
She served as co-counsel with Lambda Legal in securing the right of Orange County high school students to form a gay-straight alliance, has filed amicus briefs in landmark marriage-equality cases, and co-authored an amicus brief challenging partisan gerrymandering in League of Women Voters v. Pennsylvania. Her work has earned her the People for the American Way Foundation’s Defenders of Democracy Award, Equality California’s Good Neighbor Award, and California Women Lawyers’ Judith Soley Lawyer as Citizen Award.
Recognized among the top appellate and intellectual property litigators in California, Ms. Brill served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with whom she has co-authored several articles. She has also served as a law school guest lecturer at Yale, Georgetown, UCLA, and USC.
Outside of the courtroom, Ms. Brill is a nationally recognized thought leader who publishes and speaks widely on legal issues, including the First Amendment, entertainment and copyright law, appellate practice, and the legal profession.
Ms. Brill is one of the United States’ leading voices for high school voter registration and youth participation, as founder and CEO for The Civics Center, a nationally renowned nonpartisan non-profit dedicated to youth voting. She is also a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and maintains an active pro bono docket, with a focus on equal rights, freedom of expression, and challenges to the use of the initiative process.
To see Lawdragon’s list of Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers, please click here.