FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Aug. 10, 2026

Media contacts:
Nicole Funaro, Director of Media & Storytelling, Public Justice, communications@publicjustice.net

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The Public Justice Foundation’s membership has announced the election of eight prominent legal advocates from across the country to the organization’s Board of Directors. Founded in 1982, Public Justice takes on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time — abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights and liberties, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. The Foundation’s Board helps guide the organization’s strategic priorities in litigation, advocacy, fundraising, communications, and operations and is comprised of advocates and litigators from across the United States.

“We are thrilled to welcome this cohort of leaders to the Public Justice Board,” said Public Justice CEO Lauren Barnes. “They each bring a unique perspective, and deep expertise, across a wide range of issues to our already diverse and impressive family of Board Members. Each one has demonstrated their commitment to protecting consumers and workers — and preserving their access to the courts. Their service and partnership will further amplify Public Justice’s commitment to ensuring our courts are open and working for all. I am excited to work together in concert with our Public Justice staff to ‘unrig the system’ and protect access to justice for all.”

“I’m thrilled by this group of new board members — they are stepping forward to face the challenges of our day,” said Board President David Sugerman. “They share a commitment to the values that drive Public Justice, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome them to the team.”

Public Justice’s newest cohort of Board Members includes:

Sara Couch, Member, Motley Rice: Sara is a trial attorney for Motely Rice, working on litigation including defective medical devices, harmful drugs, toxic exposure, consumer protection, and technology and privacy actions. Sara has a specific interest in litigation that has caused harm to women, filing the first complaint in the nation alleging harms caused by weight loss medication Wegovy and strongly believes in holding companies accountable for products that target and harm women. Prior to joining Motley Rice, Sara was a law clerk with the North Carolina Department of Justice, where she researched and drafted briefs and memoranda regarding the False Claims Act and Stark Law for the North Carolina Medicaid Civil Enforcement Division. She also volunteered with Legal Aid of North Carlina and previously served on the Board of Directors for East Cooper Habitat For Humanity. In addition to her service on the Public Justice Board, she also currently serves on the Board of Slow Food Charleston and is part of the Roper St. Francis Xavier Society, which supports Roper Rehabilitation Hospital.

Eric Gibbs, Partner at Gibbs Mura: In 30 years of practice, Eric has successfully prosecuted hundreds of complex cases, with a particular focus on class action and mass tort, and has recovered more than $1 billion for his clients. Additionally, he has grown and managed two first, including his current firm, Gibbs Mura. Outside of his service on the Public Justice Board, Eric has served in many leadership positions in American Association for Justice, and in 2025, was honored with AAJ’s David S. Shrager President’s Award in recognition of his dedicated advocacy and leadership. He also helped form AAJ’s 300+ member Class Action Section, co-founded its Consumer Privacy and Data Breach Litigation Group, and served as an active member of its Law School Committee. In addition to his professional affiliations, Eric is deeply committed to mentorship and recently launched the Mason Gibbs Plaintiffs’ Pathway Fellowship, a highly selective, paid fellowship that exposes outstanding law students to litigation at leading plaintiff-side firms. The fellowship is co-led by fellow Public Justice board member, Danielle Ward Mason of Singleton Schreiber.

Divya Goel, 3L at Georgetown University Law Center: Divya founded the Georgetown chapter of the Plaintiff’s Law Association, part of a national network of law students and alumni working to encourage law students to become plaintiff-side attorneys. In her 3L year, she also served as co-president of the National Plaintiffs’ Law Association and worked as a legal fellow at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator. Divya held additional leadership positions at Georgetown, including President of the Georgetown Antitrust and Competition Law Association, and was part of the People’s Parity Project chapter leadership team. Passionate about the international scope of technology law issues, Divya spent her final semester of law school studying abroad at the Center for Transnational Legal Studies in London.

Beth Graham, Principal, Grant & Eisenhofer: Beth has represented families, consumers, and small businesses in lawsuits against powerful corporations, leading litigation involving environmental disasters, defective medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and institutional misconduct. She has been named a Law360 “Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar” multiple times, most recently in 2025, as well as a National Law Journal Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Trailblazer in 2020. Beth has a special interest in complex and mass tort litigation topics and often speaks on the topics at conferences sponsored by the American Association for Justice (AAJ), Mass Torts Made Perfect, and Masters of Mass Tort, among others.

Jonathan Marshall, Partner at Bailey Glasser LLP: Jonathan has led both federal and state mass tort and class action litigation in several states, bringing many cases to a verdict. He serves as the firm’s Practice Area Leader of its Contingency Practice department and also leads its Consumer Litigation, TCPA, and Employment Practice Groups. In addition to his service on the Public Justice Board, Jonathan is a Director of the Center for Consumer Law and Education at West Virginia University College of Law, where he also teaches. He is also a past President of the Council of Presidents for the American Association for Justice.

Jean Martin, Partner at Aylstock Witkin Kreis & Overholtz PLC: For more than 25 years, Jean has dedicated her career to consumer protection and defective product class action litigation. Her caseload spans multiple disciplines within the class action bar, including consumer goods, data privacy, medical products, and environmental disasters. Jean joined Aylstock Witkin Kreis & Overholtz PLC in January 2026 to lead the firm’s consumer class action practice. She has received multiple awards for her work, most recently named as one of Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers and Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyer in 2025. In addition to her daily legal practice and her service on the Public Justice Board, Jean founded Class of Our Own, an invitation-only annual summit for female attorneys handling plaintiff class actions.

Kristen Simplicio, Partner at Clarkson Law Firm: Kristen has represented consumers, students, workers, and homeowners in a series of class-action wins. She has fought and won on behalf of victims of illegal debt collection practices, false advertising, and other corporate schemes, and secured important changes to the mortgage servicing industry as a result of several class actions brought on behalf of homeowners. In the first decade of her career, Kristen successfully litigated several false advertising cases, as well as a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) lawsuit, on behalf of small business owners trapped in predatory leases for credit card processing equipment; she was able to secure millions of dollars of relief and changed practices for the victims.

Matthew Wessler, Principal at Gupta Wessler: Matt has handled high-profile cases at all levels of both state and federal court and has regularly appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court. At Gupta Wessler, Matt specializes in public interest and plaintiffs’-side appellate and complex litigation. He has argued and won significant class action, workers’ rights, and consumer protection appeals on issues including arbitration, payday lending, antitrust, civil procedure, class-action practice, and preemption. Matt frequently serves as co-counsel with trial firms, and he has also represented non-profit organizations, acting as outside counsel to the American Association for Justice. Prior to his time at Gupta Wessler, Matt was a staff attorney at Public Justice.

#

Public Justice takes on the most significant systemic threats to justice of our time—abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights and liberties, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. We link high-impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to combat these abusive and discriminatory systems and achieve social and economic justice. For more information, visit www.public-justice.org.