Richard LaVallo is the legal director at Disability Rights Texas (DRTx), a nonprofit legal advocacy agency that advocates for and protects the rights of people with disabilities. He has been practicing law as a public interest attorney since 1983 and has extensive experience representing persons with disabilities throughout Texas. Mr. LaVallo earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honors from the University of New Mexico, a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas in Austin, and a Juris Doctor from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law. After law school, he began practicing family law, specializing in defending suits for termination of parental rights as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Central Texas. LaVallo has worked at DRTx for more than thirty years, representing people with disabilities in a wide range of individual and systemic cases. He has also worked on numerous legislative and public policy issues dealing with education, mental health, foster care, guardianship, and juvenile justice. Please join us in thanking Richard LaVallo for his many years of serving the underserved and those in our communities who need us the most!