WASHINGTON - Howard University School of Law is happy to announce that Tiffany Wright, adjunct professor, and co-director for the Howard University Civil Rights Clinic, has been appointed as associate counsel to the president in the White House Counsel’s Office. Wright, a former appellate lawyer in the D.C. office of Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe LLP, will bring a breadth of exceptional talent, diverse experience, and steadfast dedication to the White House and will play a key role in supporting the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to tackling the crises facing the country and building back better.

“Our nation will benefit from Tiffany’s leadership and passion for social justice,” said Josh Rosenkranz, head of Orrick’s Supreme Court and appellate practice. “She was a star at Orrick and made a significant impact as an Orrick Fellow through Howard University’s Civil Rights Clinic, an extraordinary program that is cultivating the next generation of appellate and civil rights lawyers. We look forward to seeing what Tiffany will accomplish on the national stage.” 

 To Howard law, Wright brought her experience litigating civil rights and appellate cases to the Civil Rights Clinic where students work on cases before various courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Clinic students work in teams to draft amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court and other courts of appeal, participate in an intra-clinic moot court program, and engage in public education on important civil rights issues.  The clinic is dedicated to providing law students of color with appellate-focused resources, including substantive skill-building opportunities, access to appellate networks, mentorship, and clerkship guidance. 

“Our partnership with Orrick has been transformative for the Clinical Law Center,” said Valerie Schneider, professor of law and director of the Howard University School of Law Clinical Law Center. “With the support of Orrick, professor Tiffany Wright increased our capacity to represent individuals, file amicus briefs, conduct SCOTUS moots and weigh in on some of the most important civil rights matters of our time.  I’m confident that Professor Wright will serve the country well in her position in the White House, and I look forward to following what I know will be an impressive career focused on service to civil rights causes.”

Wright graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center, and subsequently served as a law clerk to Sonia Sotomayor on the United States Supreme Court, David Tatel on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Royce Lamberth on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Wright has maintained an active civil rights practice, including successfully representing a Texas prisoner in a case asking the U.S. Supreme Court to abolish or recalibrate the doctrine of qualified immunity.  

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About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 70 Fulbright Scholars. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.