Ayesha Khan

Civil Rights Litigator & Appellate Attorney

Ayesha N. Khan has extensive civil rights and appellate experience, having formerly served as a Deputy Chief in the Appellate Section of the Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice and as the Legal Director of a national civil rights organization. She has represented clients before the United States Supreme Court, every federal circuit, and state appellate courts throughout the country. She has also litigated extensively at the trial level in federal and state courts nationwide. Her clients have ranged from private individuals to commercial entities, local school districts to municipalities, and state governments to the United States.

She concentrates her practice on two areas. She is an appellate generalist who represents individual and corporate clients throughout the country in matters involving a virtually unlimited array of subject areas, including business disputes, constitutional questions, civil rights issues, and family law. She also represents individual plaintiffs in trial-level civil rights cases involving, among other things, sexual harassment, racial profiling, and LGBTQ issues. She is an aggressive, thorough, and compassionate advocate for her clients.

Appeals & Appellate
Civil Appeals, Federal Appeals
Civil Rights
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Discrimination, Employment, Fair Housing, Police Misconduct, Privacy Law
Employment Law
Employee Benefits, Employment Contracts, Employment Discrimination, ERISA, Overtime & Unpaid Wages, Sexual Harassment, Whistleblower, Wrongful Termination
Fees
  • Free Consultation
  • Credit Cards Accepted
  • Contingent Fees
District of Columbia
District of Columbia Bar
Since 1991
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Languages

  • English:
    Spoken, Written

Partner, Litigation and Appellate Practice
Potomac Law Group
2016 –

Current

Deputy Chief
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Appellate Section
2015 –

2016

Legal Director
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
1998 –

2015

Staff Counsel
ACLU National Prison Project
1993 –

1998

Associate
Covington & Burling
1991 –

1993

University of California – Berkeley
J.D. (1989)
1986


1989

Honors: Order of the Coif (rank: top 5% of class); Women in the Public Interest Scholarship
Activities: CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW; Articles Editor, BERKELEY WOMEN’S LAW JOURNAL
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University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
B.A. | Philosophy
1980


1984

Honors: Degree Awarded with Highest Distinction, Rank: Top 3%; James B. Angell Scholar; University Honors 1984
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District of Columbia Bar

&nbsp# 426836

Current
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Maryland State Bar Association

Current
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Women’s Bar Association

Current
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Articles & Publications
Attorney Fees under the Prison Litigation Reform Act: Interpretations and Challenges
13 CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION AND ATTORNEY FEES (Clark Boardman Callaghan Pub., Steve Saltzman ed., 1997)
Holy Headache: Is Bufferin’ an Adequate Prescription for the Rev. Phelps?
2010 CARDOZO L. REV. DE NOVO 388 (2010) (lead author, with Michael Blank)
The Application of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to the Segregation of HIV-Positive Inmates
65 WASH. L. REV. 839 (1990)
The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker: When Nondiscrimination Principles Collide with Religious Freedom
Maryland Bar Journal (forthcoming in July/Aug. 2017 issue)
July, 2017
Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don’t: The Pitfalls and Pratfalls of Complying with the Establishment Clause
Municipal Lawyer Magazine
June, 2017

At a Crossroads: The Intersection Between Religious Liberties and Nondiscrimination Principles
PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE? RECONCILING NON-DISCRIMINATION PRINCIPLES WITH CIVIL LIBERTIES (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights ed., 2013)
2013

Websites & Blogs

Website
Partner, Potomac Law Group

Rock Creek Law, LLC
5309 Burling Terrace
Bethesda, MD 20814
US
Toll-Free: (301) 246-0346

Potomac Law Group, PLLC
1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Ste. 700
Washington, DC 20004
US
Telephone: (202) 836-7136
Fax: (202) 318-7707