Lucas Deforest

Lucas hails originally from Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Psychology. Before law school, Lucas worked in market research, primarily in the healthcare and finance industries, and was a spin instructor around New York City. At Columbia, he is the Vice President of Advocacy for the Columbia ACLU, Events Chair for the Criminal Justice Action Network, a staff editor on the Journal of Gender & Law, and a Peer Mentor. He spent his first summer at Lambda Legal, doing impact litigation on issues related to the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the US. His work focused particularly on discrimination in the workplace, education, and healthcare. Lucas is most interested in civil liberties issues impacting the LGBTQ+ community, the criminal justice system, and voting rights. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and reliving all of Britney’s greatest VMA performances.