E. Richard Larson
Pioneering civil rights lawyer, E. Richard Larson, age 73, passed away on July 22, in his Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles home with his sister, Jane, and nephew, Marc, at his side. Larson served as Vice President of the Mexican American Legal Defense (MALDEF) for eight years from 1986-94, including leading the litigation of Garza v. County of Los Angeles, a voting rights case that resulted in the creation of a predominantly-Latino County supervisorial district, a seat initially filled by Supervisor Gloria Molina. His career also included stints at two other major civil rights organizations, the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Born June 21, 1944, in Minneapolis to Earl and Cecill Larson, Larson excelled in sports and studies, graduating from West High School in 1962. He went on to Dartmouth College (Class of 1966) where he played on the1963-64 All-Ivy Champion hockey team and scored the winning goal in the crucial game. Larson followed his father into the legal profession, attending the University of Minnesota Law School. (1969), and serving as a law clerk to one of the great Eighth Court of Appeals judges, Gerald W. Heaney, who furthered his interest in civil rights.
Larson dedicated the rest of his life to advocating on behalf of racial minorities and the poor. He began his career in New York City with the then newly created National Employment Law Center. In 1974, he moved to the ACLU as a National Staff Counsel where he brought cases to integrate police departments nationally. He authored four books, including Sue Your Boss (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 1981), Federal Court Awards of Attorney Fees (Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1981), and The Rights of Racial Minorities (Avon, 1980). A highlight of his early career were his four arguments to the United States Supreme Court advocating for the advancement of civil rights, particularly employment discrimination protections for minority workers.
In 1986, Larson joined the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), headquartered in Los Angeles, as its Vice President for Litigation. He led legal reform efforts at a critical time for winning recognition of Latino voting and other legal rights and was instrumental in developing many advocates for Latino rights. Larson left MALDEF in 1994 to establish his own civil rights law practice.
In 1997, Larson joined the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund where he led a legal team implementing the consent decree in Labor/Community Strategy Center v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a case that over two decades resulted in billions of dollars of additional buses and service improvements for the overwhelmingly minority bus ridership. After leaving the LDF in 2005, he continued to work on the MTA case, gradually retired to pursue other passions.
Larson loved the New York City Ballet, and classical music at the Hollywood Bowl. He delighted in overseeing the expansion of his home under the Hollywood sign. And his relationships with his family and wide circle of friends from all walks of life, all ages and all races fueled his joie de vivre and his passion for justice.
E. Richard Larson is survived by his sister, Jane Larson, her husband, Luis Torras, both of Barcelona, and nephews Marc and David Torras Larson of Singapore and Saigon, respectively.