Interview Spotlight
Jon Davidson
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
Senior Staff Attorney
Jon Davidson is a National Treasure and even has a Facebook Fan Page.
Jon got his start in LGBTQ+ legal affairs with the ACLU Foundation of Southern California in 1988, ending up as Senior Staff Counsel and Director, Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. While there he secured victories in more than a dozen path-breaking cases resulting in published decisions involving constitutional, statutory, and common law rights.
He was Lead or co-counsel in litigation brought on behalf of lesbians and gay men, women, and people living with HIV and other disabilities challenging deprivation of constitutional and civil rights in employment, housing, insurance, public accommodations, health care, the criminal justice system, and family law.
He co-drafted of AB 26 (1988), California’s initial, limited domestic partnership law, and AB 205 (2003), its comprehensive domestic partnership law.
In 1995 he migrated to the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund as Supervising Attorney, moving to senior Counsel in 2001, and becoming Legal Director and Eden/Rushing Chair in 1995.
Lambda Legal is the nation's largest and oldest legal organization dedicated to the protection and advancement of the civil rights of LGBTQ people and people living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.
During his tenure he was Lead or co-counsel in more than 30 precedent-setting cases resulting in published decisions in all areas of LGBTQ and HIV law. He supervised legal team of 31 attorneys and 16 support staff across Lambda Legal’s six offices nationwide.
Leaving Lambda in 2017, he became a legal consultant to non-profit organizations and authored legal columns. Clients included Freedom for All Americans”, and the National Immigration Law Center.
He organized national convening regarding Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colo. Civil Rights Commission’s messaging and religious exemption issues; provided legal research, analysis, and advice regarding pending and contemplated impact litigation; and wrote a series of columns regarding LGBTQ legal issues for the Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade newspapers and websites.
In 2018 Jon became Chief Counsel for the Freedom for All Americans Education Fund, Inc.
He provided strategic advice, editing of briefs, and mooting of oral arguments to counsel handling high-profile impact litigation addressing sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.
In 2022 Jon became Senior attorney in the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. He provides advice to seven ACLU affiliates on LGBTQ and HIV issues and consults with national ACLU policy experts on identity document and HIV issues, all of whom are working to defend and advance the civil rights and civil liberties of LGBTQ people throughout the United States.