Elizabeth L. Grayer Named as President of Legal Momentum

January 27, 2011 -

Elizabeth L. Grayer, a Partner in the Litigation Department of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, will become the eighth President of Legal Momentum, the women’s legal defense and education fund. Ms. Grayer will join Legal Momentum on February 7, 2011.

Elizabeth L. Grayer

Ms. Grayer was identified through a national search conducted by Chadick Ellig and led by Legal Momentum Board member, Sujatha Srinivasan, a Vice President at Goldman Sachs.  Legal Momentum began its search after its former President, Irasema Garza, left to become Senior Counsel to Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis.  Legal Momentum’s Board Chair, Linda A. Willett, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Horizon BCBSNJ, stated that the Board was “impressed with Elizabeth’s commitment to leadership on behalf of women and girls, stellar legal and advocacy skills, and reputation for driving consensus around key issues.”

Ms. Grayer’s passion for women’s equality, security, and opportunity has permeated her career.  She has consistently been involved in pro bono work, championed workplace policies that increase the participation of women, and supported non-profits through Board service.

From 2005 to 2008, Ms. Grayer worked with the Legal Aid Society leading a team of lawyers and paralegals in securing an enforceable right to shelter for homeless families in NYC. Cravath won the Legal Aid Pro Bono Publico and Public Service Award in 2008 as a result of this work. This experience reinforced her commitment to the needs of poor and low-income women:  “My pro bono work on behalf of homeless women and their families taught me a great deal about women’s economic and personal security,” she stated. “A legal organization dedicated to these issues can make a real difference in the rights and opportunities available to women and girls – that is why I am thrilled with the opportunity to lead Legal Momentum at this important time.”

Ms. Grayer also serves as a Trustee of Jewish Home Lifecare and is Chair of the Bronx Division’s Strategic Planning Committee. Recently, she led the Bronx Division’s Strategic Planning Committee through an 18-month planning process leading to a $26 million grant for an assisted living facility in the Bronx.

Ms. Grayer received her B.A. magna cum laude from Amherst College in 1986, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and her J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1989. After a clerkship with Hon. Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, she joined Cravath in 1990 and became a Partner in 1997. Ms. Grayer is married and has a daughter.