Aaron Clefton, Managing Partner
Aaron Clefton is the Managing Partner of Rein & Clefton. He is dedicated to advancing the civil and economic rights of persons with disabilities and all people who are vulnerable or impoverished.
Aaron is lead counsel on all ADA and FHA housing cases for Rein & Clefton. He has over 19 years working in the field of disability rights, 7 years of that as an attorney.
He has received Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer honor of “AV-Preeminent” in 2021, given to attorneys “who are ranked at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards by their peers.” That same year he was made an Associate Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society established to reflect the new face of the American bar. Membership is limited to 3,500 Fellows, “representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers.” In 2022 Aaron was selected as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Magazine.
Aaron is a Phi Beta Kappa Honors graduate from the University of Washington, earning double Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Comparative History of Ideas. Aaron graduated with his Juris Doctorate from John F. Kennedy University in 2017, where he was awarded multiple scholarships. These honors included an award for commitment to the civil rights of disabled persons and honors for academic merit. Aaron also served in John F. Kennedy University’s Housing Advocacy Clinic, representing low-income and disabled tenants.
Aaron was also the editor for Paul Rein’s overview of disability access laws, Full and Equal Access: Disabled Rights Litigation in California.
Aaron’s passion for fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities and the economically vulnerable is inspired by the memory of his father, Kim Clefton, who struggled with disability access issues while living with Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome (1950-1993).