Each month, the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) will be highlighting diverse attorneys from within our community on the DEIC web page to recognize their achievements and contributions. In honor of Black History Month (Feb. 1-March 1), the DEIC is proud to highlight Avana A. Epperson-Temple, president of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association.
Avana A. Epperson-Temple is a litigation and trial attorney currently serving as president of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal field while advocating for systemic change to promote justice and equality in our communities. Outside of the MBLA, she concentrates her practice in the areas of business litigation, professional liability litigation and insurance coverage litigation. Epperson-Temple has successfully defended cases through trial and verdict in state court and has successfully argued before the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Epperson-Temple was appointed to the Business Litigation Session Advisory Committee by the Massachusetts Superior Court in 2022. She also serves as faculty for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.
Epperson-Temple also serves on the board of Pine Street Inn, New England’s largest homeless services organization; and on the board of the Anti-Defamation League for the New England Region, a civil rights organization focused on combating antisemitism and all other forms of hate. She also serves as pro bono counsel for the Women Bar Foundation’s Family Law Project, representing survivors of domestic violence.