Alumnus
Fabián Rentería was a staff attorney at the Equal Justice Society, having previously served as the 2010-2011 Judge Constance Baker Motley Civil Rights Fellow, focusing on federal and state appellate litigation. In June 2013, he joined the San Francisco-based Habeas Corpus Resource Center, which represents indigent men and women under sentence of death in California.
“Fabián was an invaluable member of our staff and helped us advance our efforts with his legal expertise and coalition management skills,” said Eva Paterson, EJS President. “As I’ve said many times, talented folks have to spread their wings and grow. We will miss him, but I wish Fabián all the best as he enters the next phase of his legal career.”
Fabián joined EJS as our 2010-2011 Judge Constance Baker Motley Civil Rights Fellow focusing on federal and state appellate litigation. He was promoted to staff attorney after his fellowship ended and continued to help broaden our legal work in defense of race-conscious policies throughout the country. His legal advocacy has earned well-deserved praise.
“Fabián played a critical role in so many of our initiatives,” said Allison Elgart, EJS Legal Director. “As a co-counsel in our amicus brief on behalf of social and organizational psychologists to the U.S. Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, he not only helped us craft an incredible brief, but coordinated efforts with the other counsel and allies across the country.”
In addition to the brief in Fisher, Fabián contributed to “Litigating Implicit Bias,” an article by Eva in Poverty & Race, and was instrumental in our litigation, including briefs filed in Associated General Contractors of America, San Diego Chapter, Inc. v. California Department of Transportation, et al.; Sander v. State Bar of California; and Connerly v. State of California, California Citizens Redistricting Commission.
Fabián graduated from UCLA School of Law, where he completed the program in public interest law and policy and the critical race studies concentration. Fabián received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA. During law school, Fabián was the Editor-in-Chief of the Chicana/o-Latina/o Law Review, a board member of La Raza Students Association, and Supervisor for the Juvenile Hall Advocacy Clinic. Fabián is a former Judicial Extern for the Hon. Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; Law Clerk for Public Advocates, Inc.; and Research Assistant to UCLA School of Law Professor Gerald P. López. Fabián worked with a countywide criminal justice committee on improving the preservation of evidence and at For People of Color, Inc. as their Director of Administration and Finance before joining EJS.