Cochran Previously Served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor to Attorney General Merrick Garland at the U.S. Department of Justice
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law announced veteran civil rights attorney and policy expert Shaylyn Cochran as its deputy executive director. In this new role, Cochran will oversee the breadth of strategies and activities in the organization’s litigation, policy, advocacy, and campaign units. She will work closely with President and Executive Director Damon Hewitt to steer the organization through an especially critical time for protecting civil rights, advancing racial justice, and defending democracy.
With deep experience as a civil rights litigator and strategist, Cochran’s experience spans the private and public sectors. As a law firm partner, she litigated civil rights class actions and other complex discrimination cases, including challenging discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, and disability. As a senior leader in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), she helped to drive the strategies and initiatives of the Civil Rights Division from vision to result during one of the busiest and most effective periods in its history.
“I am incredibly honored to join the team of dedicated civil rights advocates at the Lawyers’ Committee,” said Cochran. “We are living in unprecedented times where our institutions, our communities, and even the legal profession are under attack. But just as the Lawyers’ Committee was founded in 1963 to be a force multiplier in the struggle for civil rights, the urgent challenges of today require that we redouble and reimagine our efforts. The Lawyers’ Committee met the moment then, and I am confident that, together with our all-star team and community and pro bono partners, we will continue to meet the moment now.”
“Shaylyn is one of the best and brightest on the civil rights law and policy landscape, and she is uniquely suited to help guide our work going forward amidst mounting threats to racial justice and equity,” said Hewitt. “Throughout her career, she has tackled the toughest issues under some of the most challenging circumstances, securing impressive results in the process. She is known as an effective leader who fosters creativity and sets a standard of excellence, with an abiding commitment to Black people and communities. I have no doubt she will be an invaluable partner in charting our organization’s path forward, not just in response to these current times, but also toward a future that realizes our vision of a thriving multiracial democracy. I am thrilled to welcome Shaylyn to the team.”
Cochran most recently served as deputy chief of staff and senior counselor to Attorney General Merrick Garland at the DOJ, where she advised on civil rights and criminal justice issues. She also served as chief of staff and senior counsel in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, where she helped review the Division’s litigation sections, coordinated the Division’s stakeholder engagement strategies, and worked closely with senior DOJ leadership across multiple subject matter areas.
“This moment demands courageous leadership, a firm moral compass, and an unwavering resolve to confront the forces of hate and injustice threatening our democracy, ” said Kristen Clarke, former assistant attorney general for Civil Rights at the DOJ and past president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Shaylyn Cochran brings extraordinary talent and skills to the civil rights challenges of our time. In this role, I know that she will fully support President and Executive Director Damon Hewitt and the entire Lawyers’ Committee team in the ongoing work to ensure equal justice under law for all.”
“Shaylyn is a sharp and strategic thinker with deep civil rights expertise and relationships, said Vanita Gupta, former associate attorney general at the DOJ. “She provided astute counsel to senior leaders at the Justice Department, and I know she will do the same at the Lawyers’ Committee. As an expert problem solver who builds coalitions and collaborations, she will be a huge asset to the organization at a critical time for civil rights and our democracy.”
“For years, Shaylyn represented victims of a broad range of discrimination committed by private companies and the government,” said Joseph Sellers, partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. “She was indefatigable in seeking justice for her clients, brilliant in the legal strategy and arguments she employed to obtain noteworthy relief, and wise in how she counseled her clients and chose the best ways to serve them. She has been an inspiration to all of us.”
“Shaylyn Cochran brings a rare combination of deep litigation experience and policy expertise that will serve the Lawyers Committee exceptionally well,” said Jenny Yang, former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chair and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs director, partner, Outten & Golden. “During our years representing workers together in complex civil rights cases, I saw how her brilliant legal mind, combined with remarkable judgment and composure under pressure, allowed her to navigate the most challenging situations successfully. At this critical juncture in our nation’s ongoing struggle for equality and justice, her unique ability to bridge advocacy and policy implementation is exactly what’s needed to defend and advance the unfinished business of civil rights.”
Before her tenure in the federal government, Cochran was a partner in the Civil Rights & Employment Practice Group of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. She has been named to Law dragon’s “500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers” (2020 – 2023) and has been repeatedly recognized by the legal industry for her exceptional work, with honors from Law360, Legal 500, and Super Lawyers.
Cochran hails from Mansfield, Ohio, and she earned her B.S. and B.A. from Ohio University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.
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Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. The Lawyers’ Committee implements its mission and objectives by marshaling the pro bono resources of the bar for litigation, public policy, advocacy and other forms of service by lawyers to the cause of civil rights.
