McGregor Smyth, 41, is the executive director of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), part of what he calls a “community lawyering” movement that “augments the necessary work of traditional legal services by combining individual representation and impact litigation with policy advocacy and community organizing. “

NYLPI, which was established in 1976, has an annual budget of $5 million and 32 employees. It has enlisted nearly 80 private firms and corporate legal departments in a pro bono clearinghouse. It serves about 1,600 clients a year, not counting tens of thousands of class members.

Smyth is a 1999 graduate of Yale Law School and a former Skadden Fellow. Before joining NYLPI in 2013, he was the founding managing attorney of the Civil Action Practice and the director of Reentry Net at The Bronx Defenders.