Kumar Rao

Expert

Tags: Civil Liberties and Human Rights, Demographics and Diversity, Law and Criminal Justice, Media and Creative Expression

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Kumar Rao directs justice policy and campaign work at the Center for Popular Democracy, including supporting partner grassroots organizations and elected officials in the fight for racial equity and criminal justice transformation at the local, state, and federal levels. He presently also serves as a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, an appointee to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Lawyer Referral and Information Service, and a Scholar with the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, for whom he led a major study on the disparate legal and media treatment that suspects of ideological violence receive based on their perceived racial and religious identities. A former litigator and public defender, he has represented thousands of clients in state and federal court in both criminal and civil matters, and has counseled offices on the delivery of legal services and effective client representation practices. Kumar holds a JD cum laude from New York University School of Law and a BBA with honors from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.