ABOUT LISA
Lisa has been a civil rights lawyer since 1995. After running her own firm for 16 years, she joined Disability Rights North Carolina, a non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of people with disabilities.
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At Disability Rights, she fights for the rights of people with disabilities to live and work free from discrimination. She has represented people facing employment discrimination, voting rights violations,, denial of access to public accommodations, and constitutional rights violations.
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Lisa has lived in Wake County since 1990. She has a son who attends Wake Tech. She is a slow runner but somehow completed the City of Oaks Marathon twice.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
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North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys
President (2000 – 2001)
Board of Directors (1998 – 2002)
Chair, Judicial Endorsements Committee (2004) -
North Carolina Justice Center
Board of Directors (2012 – 2019)
Board Co-chair (2015 – 2016) -
Suzanne Reynolds for NC Supreme Court, Campaign Manager (2008)
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Committee to Keep Judge Linda Stephens, Campaign Manager (2008)
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Robin Hudson for NC Supreme Court, Campaign Manager (2006)
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North Carolina Advocates for Justice (1995 – present)
Civil Rights Section Executive Committee (2016 – 2018)
Continuing Legal Education Executive Committee, Co-chair (2007 – 2009) -
North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Attorneys, Board of Directors (~2000)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
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Disability Rights North Carolina, 2011 – present
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North Carolina State Personnel Commission, 2010 – 2013
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Law Office of Lisa Grafstein, PLLC (formerly Grafstein & Walczyk, PLLC), 1995 – 2011
PROFESSIONAL HONORS
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Champion of Justice Award, The Barbara McDowell and Gerald Hartman Foundation, 2023
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Gwyneth B. Davis Award, North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, 2012
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Legal Elite, Business North Carolina Magazine, 2007-present
Legal Elite Hall of Fame, 2011 -
North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine inclusions:
Top 50 Women Lawyers, 2011
Employment Law, 2009-present -
Best Lawyers in America, 2007-present