NCLEJ Mourns the Passing of Senior Attorney Greg Bass
With heavy hearts, NCLEJ is deeply saddened to announce the passing of long-time Senior Attorney Greg Bass.
Greg was a beloved coworker, mentor, and friend to all who worked with him over his 11 years at NCLEJ. An extremely talented and passionate lawyer, his work at NCLEJ focused on issues affecting people with disabilities and access to public benefits. He advanced the mission of NCLEJ immeasurably through his legal advocacy.
His litigation leaves behind an enduring legacy that will continue to protect tens of thousands of low-income people across the country. He litigated the groundbreaking case, Baez v. New York City Housing Authority, to address toxic mold abatement in public housing and the team that established the enforceability of provisions of the SNAP Act in Briggs v. Bremby, ensuring timely processing of SNAP benefits in Connecticut. In R.H. v. Rawlings, Greg’s work ensured ADA compliance in Georgia’s public assistance programs, while Rafferty v. Doar secured reasonable accommodations for blind and visually impaired New Yorkers who applied for or received public assistance. Greg provided training and technical assistance to hundreds of legal services attorneys over his time in practice and additionally led the revision and relaunch of the Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys, which will continue to serve as a vital reference tool for the legal services community for many years to come.
Prior to joining NCLEJ, Greg worked in legal services programs in Alabama, Washington State, California and Connecticut for over 33 years, including serving as the Litigation Director of Greater Hartford Legal Aid.
We offer our deepest condolences to Greg’s widow Barbara and son Travis.
We will miss Greg’s quiet, humble, and calm demeanor, his love of music, his dry humor and his observations of popular culture. We are grateful to have learned from and practiced the law with Greg. We will cherish our many years of memories with Greg and celebrate the exceptional impact he had on all those around him in our continuing work for justice.
