Clarissa Gaff

Clarissa Gaff is the Executive Director of Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, Inc., which provides legal services to low-income individuals in 65 counties in southern and central Illinois. She began her career with Land of Lincoln in 2006 as a staff attorney, handling a variety of areas of law. Ms. Gaff also served as a Managing Attorney before becoming Executive Director in 2018. She has taught civil practice at St. Louis University School of Law. She currently serves on the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association (NLADA) Board of Directors, where she chairs its Civil Council. She also serves as the Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Delivery of Legal Services Committee, and on the Illinois Supreme Court’s E-Business Policy Advisory Board. She earned her law degree from Washington University School of Law and a B.A. in English from Goshen College.