Gregory
Knoll
Nominated by Joanne L. Franciscus
Passionate about expanding access to justice for all, Gregory Knoll at the time of his passing on August 27, 2023, had served as the CEO/executive director/chief counsel of Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD) for 50 years.
Under Greg’s leadership, LASSD advanced access to justice through effective, efficient and vigorous legal services. Greg’s commitment to LASSD’s clients and community bolstered the firm’s reputation as an organization delivering high-quality, free legal services to low-income people. He grew LASSD from a small group of attorneys in 1974 to an organization that today has a staff of 228 (including 87 attorneys), engages 200 additional volunteers annually and is comprised of fourteen teams with specialized practice areas that serve the most pressing needs of San Diego’s community. With each additional employee, volunteer and practice area, Greg strove to increase access to justice for all.
Among his most notable accomplishments, Greg revolutionized the delivery of public health care to low-income people. With Greg at the helm, LASSD founded the Consumer Center for Health Education and Advocacy in 1999 and was a founder of the Health Consumer Alliance, a coalition of 10 legal aid organizations throughout the state that provides health consumer advocacy services and education statewide. Since its inception, Greg continuously served as either the Chair or Co-Chair of the Joint Professional and Consumer Advocacy Committee for the Healthy San Diego program. Greg was one of the most ardent champions of the poor that San Diego and California have ever known. His legacy of selflessly serving and upholding the rights and dignity of people in need will live on.
In 2011, Greg obtained funding from California’s Sargeant Shriver Grant to create LASSD’s Shriver Eviction Defense Team. Greg’s innovative approach to the project was a right to counsel model in which the Shriver Team provide full scope representation in eviction cases to eligible defendants, regardless of the merit of their defenses. In this way, Greg sought to increase representation for indigent tenants, stop the cycle of poverty that many of LASSD’s clients experience while facing eviction, and keep those clients (who are often on the brink of homelessness) housed. Indeed, due to Greg’s leadership, LASSD’s Shriver Team has been the single largest Shriver program in California for over twelve years.
At the heart of everything Greg did was a strongly held commitment to servant leadership. He poured his heart and soul into serving clients and staff. His life was defined by his selfless devotion to fighting for equity and equality. Greg was a committed advocate, servant and mentor.
