Joshua Block is a senior attorney and Senior Counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBTQ & HIV Projects, where he’s built one of the more prominent litigation careers in the modern fight over transgender rights in the United States.
Background and Education
Block is a graduate of Amherst College and Yale Law School. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Robert D. Sack on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit — a credential that typically marks someone headed toward high-level appellate or civil rights litigation. He later returned to Yale Law School as a Visiting Lecturer, teaching the school’s LGBT Rights Litigation Seminar.
Landmark Cases
Block’s most notable case is Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, where he served as lead counsel. This case produced the first federal court of appeals decision recognizing that Title IX — the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education — protects the rights of transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. It became a foundational precedent in transgender rights litigation nationally.
He was also part of the legal team that argued two of the most significant marriage equality cases in American legal history before the Supreme Court: Obergefell v. Hodges, which established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage nationwide, and United States v. Windsor, which struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Before those Supreme Court wins, he litigated marriage equality cases at the state level in Kansas, Missouri, Utah, and Virginia.
More recently, Block has been involved in litigation surrounding Title IX and transgender athletes, including arguments before the Supreme Court regarding how “sex” should be defined and applied under Title IX enforcement — a case that has drawn continued media attention and political debate. He was also involved in litigation challenging a Trump administration policy banning military service by transgender individuals, which was featured in the documentary The Fight.
Broader Legal Work
Beyond his marquee cases, Block leads the ACLU LGBTQ Project’s work on free speech and expression, including legal challenges to censorship of LGBTQ-themed library books and bans on drag performances. His broader docket has also touched employment discrimination, religious-exemption discrimination claims, transgender healthcare access, and military service policy.
Recognition
In 2012, the LGBT Bar Association named Block one of the “Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40.”
A Note on Public Debate
Block’s work — particularly his litigation and public comments on Title IX’s application to transgender student athletes — has made him a figure of significant public debate, including scrutiny and criticism from some media outlets and commentators over how “sex” should be legally defined in that context. As with most attorneys working on contested civil rights issues, views on his work tend to split sharply along broader political and ideological lines regarding transgender rights.
