Sherrilyn Ifill

Sherrilyn Ifill
Nationality American
Alma mater Vassar College (BA), New York University School of Law (JD)
Occupation Lawyer
Known for President and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Sherrilyn Ifill is an American lawyer. She is a law professor and president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.[1] She is the Legal Defense Fund's seventh president since Thurgood Marshall founded the organization in 1940. Ifill is also a nationally recognized expert on voting rights and judicial selection.[2]

Education

Ifill received her B.A. degree from Vassar College and her J.D. degree from New York University School of Law.[3]

Career

Ifill had served as assistant counsel at the Legal Defense Fund, litigating Voting Rights Act cases including the landmark Houston Lawyers' Association v. Attorney General of Texas.[4] Her first job out of law school was a one year fellowship with the ACLU in New York.[5] In 1993, she joined the faculty of the University of Maryland Law School, where she taught for two decades.[6] She is the author of On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century, a 2008 finalist for Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for Nonfiction.[7] In 2016, Ifill won the Society of American Law Teachers Great Teacher Award.[8]

Ifill regularly appears in the media for her expertise on topics like affirmative action,[9][10] policing,[11] judicial nominees,[12] and the Supreme Court.[13]

Personal life

Ifill is a cousin of the late PBS NewsHour anchor Gwen Ifill. Their family immigrated to the U.S. from Barbados[14] via Panama, with Sherrilyn and Gwen Ifill's fathers, who were brothers, both becoming African Methodist Episcopalian ministers.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Krissah (22 January 2013). "Sherrilyn Ifill is to be head of NAACP legal defense and educational fund". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Alumnus/Alumna of the Month | NYU School of Law". www.law.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Krissah; Thompson, Krissah (2013-01-22). "Sherrilyn Ifill is to be head of NAACP legal defense and educational fund". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  4. ↑ Okpalaoka, Ugonna (November 19, 2012). "Sherrilyn Ifill named head of NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund". The Grio. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Alumnus/Alumna of the Month | NYU School of Law". www.law.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  6. ↑ Edney, Hazel Trice (November 26, 2012). "NAACP Legal Defense Fund Names Sherrilyn Ifill Next President Politic365 | Politic365". Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Arena: Sherrilyn Ifill Bio". Politico. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Society of American Law Teachers (May 16, 2016). "Update on SALT Activities." Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  9. ↑ Hefling, Kimberly; Gerstein, Josh (June 23, 2016). "Supreme Court upholds college affirmative action program". Politico. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  10. ↑ Brown, Emma; Douglas-Gabriel, Danielle (June 23, 2016). "Affirmative action advocates shocked — and thrilled — by Supreme Court's ruling in University of Texas case". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Rubenstein, Samuel (21 November 2014). "BPR Interview: Sherrilyn Ifill". Brown Political Review. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  12. ↑ Burke, Lauren Victoria (March 18, 2016). "Garland Nomination: Black Advocates Want Him Vetted". NBC News. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Barnes, Robert (May 1, 2016). "Scalia's death affecting next term, too? Pace of accepted cases at Supreme Court slows". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  14. ↑ Alcindor, Yamiche (19 November 2016). "Thousands of Mourners Celebrate Gwen Ifill's Tenacity and Grace". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  15. ↑ Fineman, Howard (20 November 2016). "Gwen Ifill's Funeral Was A Revival Meeting For America". The Huffington Post.
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