Negar Katirai
Negar Katirai is the Director of the Gender Justice and Child Welfare Workshop at the University of Arizona’s College of Law and a Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute. As Director of the Gender Justice and Child Welfare Workshop, Ms. Katirai supervises law students in conducting research and advocacy to influence decision-makers and promote policies to advance child welfare as well as gender empowerment, equality, and equity. Ms. Katirai has also supervised students in providing legal representation to victim-survivors of intimate partner violence, including helping survivors obtain orders of protection against their abusers and advising them on custody, housing, and immigration law issues. Professor Katirai’s scholarship blends rigorous legal analysis with practical solutions to support vulnerable populations. Drawing on her interdisciplinary training in law and public health, she prioritizes trauma-informed approaches to craft legal and policy solutions that address the multifaceted challenges faced by marginalized communities. Ms. Katirai was awarded a Fulbright to study Domestic Violence Fatality Reviews in Australia in 2022. She has been recognized for her community contributions and scholarship by the Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona and by her peers as a Distinguished Public Service Scholar. She also teaches Family Law and a Seminar on Intimate Partner Violence and its Impact on Children.
Ms. Katirai has a diverse variety of experience in legal practice. She served as a Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia and at Break the Cycle. In both positions she provided holistic legal advocacy services to survivors of domestic violence, including in protection order, child custody, and child support matters. She has also served as Assistant Director of the Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law at Stanford Law School, where she engaged in research and developed reports regarding the public interest field, including the delivery system for legal aid to the underrepresented, and best practices for evaluating public interest legal services. Ms. Katirai began her career as an Associate at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where her pro bono practice focused on representing asylum applicants in immigration court and legislative advocacy on behalf of child victims of trafficking.
Education
- J.D. University of Pennsylvania Law School
2005 - B.A. Wesleyan University, Middleton, Connecticut
1999
Work Experience
- Director, Domestic Violence Law Clinic
James E. Rogers College of Law, Tucson, Arizona
2017 - present - Director, Community Law Group
James E. Rogers College of Law, Tucson, Arizona
2014 - 2018 - Assistant Director
Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law, Stanford Law School, California
2011 - 2014 - Staff Attorney
Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.
2010 - 2011 - Staff Attorney
Break The Cycle, Washington, D.C.
2009 - 2010 - Associate
Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Washington, D.C.
2005 - 2009