Washington, DC (Aug. 18, 2016) -– Jeff Adachi of San Francisco, CA, was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's 59th annual meeting in Palm Beach, FL, on August 13.

Adachi started in San Francisco as a public defender where he stayed for fifteen years, and was chief attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender's Office for three years. In 2002, he ran for Public Defender of San Francisco and won, making him the only elected public defender in California. He also manages an office of 93 lawyers who represent over 23,000 people each year.

He has been a member of and served on the board of many organizations in his career including: the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the California Public Defenders Association, the San Francisco Bar Association, the Asian American Bar Association (past president), and he has been a member of the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has received numerous awards due to his continuous dedication to public defense such as the California State Bar Association's Hufstedler Award for public service in 1992, the California Public Defender Association's Program of the Year Award in 2006, the prestigious California Lawyer Attorney of the Year award (CLAY) for his efforts in the prisoner reentry field in 2007, and the National Legal Aid & Defender Association's Reginald Heber Smith Award in 2012. He also placed sixth out of 16 in San Francisco's 2011 mayoral election.

Adachi received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Contacts

Ezra Dunkle-Polier, NACDL Public Affairs & Communications Assistant, (202) 465-7656 or edunkle-polier@nacdl.org for more information.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal justice system.