F. Paul Bland, Jr. will be the new executive director of Public Justice.

“This organization has successfully been doing public justice for more than 30 years and now we are moving to the next chapter to assure that we can continue to do this work for many more years to come,” said Ted Leopold, Public Justice Foundation President. “The board overwhelmingly agreed  that very few could stand in the shoes of long-time executive director Arthur Bryant and carry forward the torch for Public Justice.”

Bland succeeds Arthur H. Bryant, executive director for the past 27 years, who was named Public Justice’s Chairman and elected an ex-officio member of the Public Justice Foundation’s Board of Directors

Public Justice has been involved, under Bryant’s leadership, in a broad range of cutting-edge, high-impact litigation – fighting for consumers’ rights, workers’ rights, civil rights and liberties, environmental protection, corporate and government accountability, and the poor and the powerless.

Its Access to Justice Campaign, launched in 2004, has made Public Justice the national leader in the courts against corporate efforts to expand mandatory arbitration, federal preemption, unjustified secrecy, and other barriers to Americans’ constitutional right to a jury trial and a day in court.

Bland, a consumer advocate and prominent litigator, has been an attorney with Public Justice for more than 17 years.

Bland said he was excited for the opportunity to lead the organization to have an even bigger impact fighting injustice.

“Corporations cheat consumers and workers through practices such as predatory lending and wage theft when they think they can get away with it,” Bland said. “We know a lot about cutting through this nonsense.  Corporations such as coal companies and factory farms pollute our rivers and dump greenhouse gasses into the air whenever they can push all the costs on other people.

“We will fight for private citizens who are harmed by this kind of pollution.  And we will fight for powerless people who don’t have a voice, such as kids in schools that stand by and ignore systematic bullying. “

Bryant, as chairman, will continue to play a prominent role as a spokesperson, litigator and fundraiser for Public Justice.

Bland noted that, when Bryant began as executive director in 1987, he led a staff of two in a small office in D.C. and fewer than 25 annual members.

“He led Public Justice’s growth to nearly 30 staff in offices in DC and CA and almost 2,500 annual members,” Bland said. “Arthur guided us to achievements in a broad range of precedent-setting litigation that compares favorably to any other public interest organization in the country.”

Bryant expressed his strong support for Bland as Executive Director:

“We have a true superstar in Paul,” Bryant said.