Miami Connection
Bass has been deeply committed to Miami's civic and legal communities throughout her career. She chaired the United Way of Miami-Dade Board from 1997-1999, overseeing two of the country's most successful fundraising campaigns and negotiating the acquisition of their downtown Miami headquarters. She has served on the University of Miami Board of Trustees since 2019, chairing the capital campaign for the School of Law which raised $16 million, and later became Chair of the Board of Trustees. Her transformative pro bono work on gay adoption rights fundamentally changed Florida state policy and has positively impacted countless families in South Florida.
About
Hilarie Bass is a Miami-based attorney with over 30 years of legal experience, specializing in commercial litigation. She graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1981 and joined Greenberg Traurig as an associate, eventually becoming co-president of the firm during her 35-year tenure. In 2017, she became the eighth female president of the American Bar Association, representing the organization's 400,000 members globally. Bass is widely recognized for her landmark pro bono case that successfully challenged Florida's 20-year ban on gay adoption, leading to a change in state policy. After leaving Greenberg Traurig in late 2018, she founded the Bass Institute for Diversity and Inclusion to help organizations develop strategies for retaining and advancing women and minorities to senior management positions.