Christopher Knauf

Mr. Knauf has devoted his career to public interest pursuits. Starting with a fellowship at Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Angeles (1996-98), Mr. Knauf then joined the Western Law Center for Disability Rights for another fellowship and as a staff attorney (1998-2003). Mr. Knauf thanks the DRLC for having introduced him to the field of disability rights as well as his own greater disability awareness.Following the DRLC, Mr. Knauf joined the public agency law firm of Lozano Smith, where he represented school districts and community college districts, primarily in the areas of special education and employment related litigation.  Realizing he did not want to be a defense attorney, Mr. Knauf founded Knauf Associates in 2006, where he blended his experiences in public interest, disability rights, employment, and special education litigation. In 2012, Mr. Knauf achieved a nearly $1 million arbitration award on behalf of a deaf law student who was not provided captioning for live online classes and video lectures.Mr. Knauf now returns to the DRLC as Director of Litigation, supervising a team of talented attorneys who handle individual and class action disability rights cases under the ADA, Section 504, and related California laws.  Mr. Knauf received his J.D. in 1996 from the University of Southern California, but remains true to his Bruin roots having received his B.A. in Political Science in 1991 from UCLA. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and two daughters, who already know that people with disabilities are just like everyone else, and we're all just a little different.