Layla Razavi

Judge Constance Baker Motley Civil Rights Fellow (2011-2012)

Layla Razavi is the EJS Judge Constance Baker Motley Civil Rights Fellow for 2011-2012. She recently graduated from the UC Davis School of Law, where she was enrolled in both the Public Service Law Program and the Immigration Law Clinic.

Through her clinical work, Layla assisted in filing petitions for habeas relief before the Ninth Circuit and argued a case in federal court, resulting in her client’s release from unconstitutional detention. She also worked as part of a delegation providing assistance to refugees and displaced persons in Haiti. During her time in law school, Layla conducted research on various topics relating to critical race theory and racial justice.

Prior to law school, Layla worked as a legislative advocate at the State Capitol in Sacramento, promoting equal access to public services, including health care and the judicial system, for people of color, immigrants, and low-income workers.

She conducted policy analysis for Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a leading national civil rights law firm, and the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), a statewide coalition of immigrants’ rights organizations.

She also served as a legislative aide for Joseph Dunn, a former California State Senator and Chair of the State Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and the current Executive Director of the State Bar of California. Layla was selected as a 2004-05 Fellow with the Center for California Studies and the California State Senate.