Lambda hires new legal director

Gary Buseck, the current head of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders in Massachusetts, has been hired as legal director for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund following a nationwide search that lasted several months. Buseck's team was behind the successful lawsuit filed by seven same-sex couples in Massachusetts who were denied marriage licenses two years ago. He will take the helm at Lambda next month, where he will oversee a team of 15 full-time attorneys who will handle a range of litigation and legal advocacy work. "Gary Buseck's legal expertise, vision, and strategic leadership have changed the legal landscape across New England," said Kevin Cathcart, executive director for Lambda. "We're looking forward to bringing his skills and talents to the national stage, where countless LGBT people and people with HIV or AIDS will benefit from Gary's efforts." Under Buseck's direction, GLAD won a number of important gay rights cases. In addition to the Massachusetts case, GLAD's legal team won a lawsuit in Vermont that resulted in the establishment of that state's groundbreaking civil unions for same-sex couples. "GLAD has been the love of my life for nearly 25 years," said Buseck, who became the organization's executive director in 1997. "I could only leave GLAD to go to an organization as uniquely important as Lambda Legal, which provides unparalleled national leadership to our community." Buseck replaces Ruth Harlow, who led Lambda's team of attorneys in the organization's landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory in the Lawrence v. Texas case earlier this year.