Shook Adds Fellow to Expand Civil Rights Efforts

Partnering with Equal Justice Works, Shook welcomes Ayesha Ahsan to the firm’s Civil Rights Practice as a fellow. Ahsan is a J.D. candidate at the Boston College of Law. Her fellowship is hosted by the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

Ahsan will be collaborating with Shook’s Civil Rights leader Michael Harrison, who joined Shook in 2023. Harrison was an Assistant District Attorney & Chief Prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston.

After winning a high profile prisoner’s rights case in St. Louis in 2022, Shook is dedicating much of the fee award recovery to the expansion of the firm’s civil rights and racial justice pro bono efforts. Initially, the practice will focus primarily on prisoners’ civil rights and abuse-of-force litigation, but the firm anticipates that the scope could expand in the years to come.

In June, Shook will be recognized with the National Legal Aid and Defender Association’s (NLADA) prestigious 2024 Beacon of Justice Award. Shook is named among a select group of firms in the nation for “incredible pro bono work.”

Pro Bono Partner and Director Scot Fishman leads the firm’s pro bono initiatives.