Power Moves: Jessica Attie joins Education Law Center

Jessica Attie  has joined the Education Law Center as a staff attorney. At the Education Law Center, Attie will be part of the team working on lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s school funding system – William Penn School District et al. v. Pa. Dept. of Education et al.

The appointment was announced via email January 10. Attie, who most recently served in the appeals unit at the Philadelphia District Attorney‘s office, is described as an experienced litigator who has devoted most of her career to civil rights law.

And, in fact, her c.v. is filled with cases that address many of the most significant legal challenges of recent years. For example, serving as special counsel for civil rights in the NY AG’s office, she led efforts to fight the Trump Administration decision to withhold federal funding from so-called “sanctuary cities,” and its delay of a housing rule intended to combat residential segregation. Attie was a member of the team that challenged the “Muslim ban,” as well as the team that challenged the practice of separating children from their families at the border.

She also litigated cases involving fair housing and redlining, credit discrimination, and voting rights, and she contributed to the AG’s report analyzing the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practices.

Earlier in her career, as a project director at South Brooklyn Legal Services, Attie led litigation on behalf of low-income and minority homeowners who received predatory mortgage loans.

“We are thrilled to have Jessica join our legal team, given her experience, talent, and team spirit,” ELC executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr said in the announcement email.

Attie holds degrees from Barnard College and Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar. She has taught at Brooklyn Law School and the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.