Amy Xu is Senior Counsel at the Social Justice Legal Foundation, where she drives the organization’s high-impact litigation program by developing and leading a docket of trial-focused public interest cases.

Previously, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where she handled cases and investigations enforcing federal civil rights laws such as the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Prior to her government service, Amy practiced at Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP (RBGG) and concentrated on civil rights, class actions, and constitutional law.  While at RBGG, Amy represented plaintiff classes in precedent-setting litigation challenging inadequate mental health care and other unconstitutional conditions in California prisons and jails, including Coleman v. Newsom.  Amy also served as a law clerk in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California to the Honorable Dale A. Drozd.

Amy was named a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) award winner in 2022 for her contributions in securing a nationwide injunction of Executive Order 13,943 (August 6, 2020), which would have effectively banned the WeChat social media application and cut off millions of Chinese-Americans from their communities during the pandemic.

Outside of work, Amy loves to spend time with her family, go to farmers markets, and dream about her next big international trip.