Brian East

Meeting of June 8, 2011 - EEOC to Examine Use of Leave As Reasonable Accommodation

Brian graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1977. He worked at legal aid for two years, and in private practice for 14 years, before joining Disability Rights Texas (formerly known as Advocacy, Inc.), a non-profit corporation advocating for the rights of people with disabilities.  Brian has handled a number of disability-discrimination and disability-rights cases in state and federal court, and has written and lectured extensively on these issues.  Brian is currently a Board Member of both the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and the Texas Employment Lawyers Association (TELA).  He serves on the Legal Advocacy Subcommittee of the American Diabetes Association, and in the past has served as the Chair of NELA's Disability Rights Committee, and on the legal committees of the National Disability Rights Network and of AIDS Services of Austin.  He is the co-author and editor of the chapter on "Workers with Disabilities" in the Employee & Union Member Guide to Labor Law (Thompson/West).  Brian was named a "SuperLawyer" by Texas Monthly magazine for 2003–2009, and he received the 2003 Excellence in Public Interest award from the Texas Law Fellowships, the 2008 Martha Arbuckle Meritorious Service Award from the Austin Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities, and the 2011 J. Chrys Dougherty Legal Services Award from the State Bar of Texas.