Arthur H. Bryant, Chairman of Public Justice, has won major victories and established new precedents in several areas of the law, including constitutional law, toxic torts, civil rights, consumer protection, and mass torts. The National Law Journal has twice named him one of the 100 Most Influential Attorneys in America.
Arthur first came to Public Justice in 1984 as its sole staff attorney, and was appointed Executive Director in 1987. Under Arthur’s leadership, the organization grew from a staff of two, including him, to a staff of 30. While Arthur was Executive Director, Public Justice became involved in a broader range of cutting-edge, high-impact litigation than any public interest group in the country – 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, 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. Arthur became Chairman in 2014.
Arthur is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School, where he captained his team to the Ames Moot Court Competition Championship. After serving as a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Gabrielle M. McDonald, he worked as an associate at the Philadelphia law firm of Kohn, Savett, Marion & Graf (now Kohn, Swift & Graf), handling First Amendment, civil rights, and complex civil litigation. While at that firm, he brought and tried the case that forced the admission of women to Philadelphia’s previously all-male Central High School.
