Empowering citizens through legal advocacy | with Ami Gandhi, JD

Ami Gandhi, JD, is a Senior Counsel at the Chicago Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights where she works to reduce barriers to voting and improve civic participation, especially in communities of color and low-income communities. Ami’s experience includes leading statewide voter protection for the 2016 and 2020 elections, partnering with community members in the criminal legal system to expand voter access, advocating for communities of color during Illinois redistricting, and advising local election authorities as they implemented the first Hindi ballots in the country. Her experience includes litigating cases in Illinois and Indiana and partnering with communities to write and pass legislation. She previously worked as the Executive Director of South Asian American Policy & Research Institute (SAAPRI), as the Legal Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago, and as a commercial litigation attorney at Freeborn & Peters LLP. She also serves on the Planning Committee for DePaul University’s Institute for Restorative Academic and Civic Engagement, which focuses on currently and formerly incarcerated students, as well as the Executive Advisory Board for the Immigrant and Refugee-Led Capacity Development Network of Illinois. 

Ami participates in the Law, Politics, and Civic Engagement Think Tank with incarcerated community members at Stateville Correctional Center. She has also served on the boards of Common Cause Illinois and American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. 

Ami has received awards from Indiana University’s Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, the South Asian Bar Association of North America, and from Chicago Fair Trade. Ami earned her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and her B.A. in psychology and cognitive science from Indiana University. 

Topics we cover:

1. How did Ami decide, as a psych major, that she wanted to apply to law school?
2. Why did she decide against clinical work despite initially considering it?
3. Did being a psych major make it easier or more difficult to apply to law school?
4. What experiences are good to acquire in undergrad that are translatable to law?
5. Can law school be a last-minute decision?
6. Going to law school as a “blank slate”
7. Why working at a law library helped Ami be comfortable being around lawyers in suits
8. How did her psychology background help her in law school?
9. How did Ami decide she wanted to work in public interest & civil rights
10. What does it look like to legally advocate for voter rights?
11. What does a typical week look like for Ami at Chicago Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights
12. Ami’s favorite thing about her job?
13. What is one skill, quality, or general factor that has served you no matter where you went in life? 

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Music by: Adam Fine