Richard Rouilard, one year out of law school, co-founded in 1979 the National Gay Rights Advocates of San Francisco, which was the first public interest law firm for lesbians and gay men in the United States. In 1981, he moved to Los Angeles, and began a journalism career that included being editor-in-chief of The Advocate. As editor-in-chief, Rouillard nearly tripled circulation, and upgraded the magazine’s layout and journalistic standards. He also worked as society and style editor for the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and as a senior editorial consultant and contributor to the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Rouillard also was a founder of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. He died in 1996.