BOSTON, October, 25 -- The Massachusetts IOLTA Committee is pleased to announce that Attorney Jenna Miara will be its new Executive Director starting November 1, 2021. 

Miara was previously the directing attorney of Impact Litigation and Policy at Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Angeles. She developed and supervised the firm’s impact litigation and policy work, managing both in-house and outside counsel, engaging with the state legislature and outside organizations, supervising staff attorneys, fellows, law students and volunteers, fundraising and contributing to the overall management of Bet Tzedek’s operations. She has extensive litigation and policy experience in key legal services matters, including consumer protection, civil rights, and employment matters.

Prior to her work at Bet Tzedek, she was a senior litigation attorney at Strumwasser & Woocher LLP, in Los Angeles and a complex litigation partner at Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym Ltd., in Chicago. 

Miara started her career as a legal services attorney at Legal Aid Chicago, where she worked for five years. She was also an instructor at UCLA School of Law. She graduated from Stanford Law School with distinction in 2004, and was a law clerk to Judge Robert W. Gettlement in the Northern District of Illinois. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Columbia University with a degree in History.

“We are very excited to welcome Jenna to the Massachusetts Access to Justice community,” said Hannah L. Kilson, chair of the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee. “We were so impressed with her experience in litigation and civil legal aid, combined with her keen intellect and experience in community building.”

Miara steps into a role held since 1989 by Jayne Tyrrell, whose groundbreaking work and dedication to access to justice have been hailed across the legal community.

“I am so honored and excited to join the robust public interest community in Massachusetts,” Miara said. “IOLTA revenue is critical to addressing long-standing inequities that have been compounded by the devastating effects of the pandemic. I’m eager to work to maximize the resources of legal and financial institutions in the interest of justice.”

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