The International Legal Foundation
Amber Baylor is an Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and the director of the Criminal Defense Clinic, which provides defense representation on state criminal charges and supports advocacy efforts of local grassroots organizations working to reduce criminalization. Before joining the Law School in 2021, Baylor was the founder and director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at Texas A&M School of Law. The clinic provides defense in Texas municipal criminal courts and works with clients and advocates as counsel on federal clemency and compassionate release campaigns. Baylor has been a visiting assistant professor in the Veterans Law Clinic at Widener University Delaware Law School and a clinical teaching fellow and supervising attorney at Georgetown Law’s Community Justice Project clinic.
Baylor’s scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as the Washington University Law Review, New Mexico Law Review, and Michigan Journal of Gender and Law on topics that include pedagogy for representation of community-based organizations; enforcement and regulation of municipal low-level crimes in communities of color; and use of low-level criminal charges in student discipline. Baylor is a former fellow of The International Legal Foundation, West Bank. Prior to teaching, Baylor was a staff attorney with Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and a trial attorney for Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc.
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The International Legal Foundation
Founded in 2001, the International Legal Foundation is the leading global advocate for the right to counsel for the poor. We are pioneering the establishment of public defender offices as countries rebuild and remake their criminal justice systems. Our team works in some of the world's most challenging places, where poor, vulnerable, and marginalized groups face discrimination and abuse. We achieve systemic change through litigation, advocacy, and policy reform. The ILF currently has programs in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Tunisia, and the West Bank. Over the years, we have represented more than 60,000 people and trained and mentored hundreds of lawyers. We are building a culture of defense and creating a new generation of skilled defense lawyers through multi-year, intensive mentoring. We also conduct high-level advocacy, pushing countries, international institutions, and donors to prioritize legal aid as a fundamental human right. We were a drafter of the United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2012. We also organized the first-ever international conference on public defense, held in Johannesburg, South Africa in June 2014. Today, we are in the vanguard of global efforts to standardize public defense so quality legal services are measurable and accountable.