California Lawyers Association recognized the founding director of Stanford Law’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic for her decades of advocacy.

Jayashri Srikantiah, professor of law and the founding director of Stanford Law School’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, was named the 2026 recipient of the California Lawyers Association’s Warren M. Christopher Award, presented annually by CLA’s International Law and Immigration Section.

The award recognizes distinguished service in promoting the rule of law internationally or significant achievements in the practice of international law.

Srikantiah has spent more than two decades representing individuals facing deportation and challenging federal immigration policies and practices. Since joining Stanford Law in 2004, she has led the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic where students work on cases involving immigration detention, the consequences of past criminal convictions, and protections for immigrant survivors of domestic violence. With her students, she has litigated cases in immigration courts, federal district and appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court, including challenges seeking to establish constitutional limits on federal immigration detention practices.

“Everything for which I’m being recognized is work I have done in collaboration with colleagues, students, and community members,” Srikantiah said. “This award truly is for all the people with whom I’ve worked to advance immigrant rights. Especially in difficult times, it is important to pause and to lift each other up.”

Srikantiah joins a distinguished group of past recipients, several of whom have Stanford Law ties, including the award’s namesake, former U.S. Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher, JD ’49, who was given the inaugural award posthumously in 2011. Other past recipients include former U.S. Ambassador to Japan John V. Roos, JD ’80 (BA ’77), and former California Supreme Court Justice and Stanford Law professor Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar.

Patricia Guerrero, JD ’97, chief justice of the California Supreme Court, presented awards from CLA’s various sections at an October ceremony in San Diego.

“We are thrilled that the California Lawyers Association has recognized Jayashri with the Warren M. Christopher Award,” said Phil Malone, professor of law and associate dean of clinical education. “She has devoted her career to promoting the rule of law and the legal rights of immigrants. Her track record as a litigator, policy advocate, scholar, and clinical teacher at Stanford Law School is second to none. Her students, her clients and their communities, and our immigration system as a whole have benefited tremendously from her work and dedication.”

Before joining Stanford Law, Srikantiah served as associate legal director of the ACLU of Northern California and as a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. Her previous honors include California Lawyer’s 2014 Attorney of the Year award, SIREN’s 2017 Legal Advocate of the Year award, and the National Immigration Project’s 2017 Carol Weiss King Award.

The Immigrants’ Rights Clinic is one of 11 clinics within Stanford Law School’s Mills Legal Clinic, where students gain hands-on legal experience through full-time clinical work.

About Stanford Law School

Stanford Law School is one of the world’s leading institutions for legal scholarship and education. Its alumni are among the most influential decision makers in law, politics, business, and high technology. Faculty members argue before the Supreme Court, testify before Congress, produce outstanding legal scholarship and empirical analysis, and contribute regularly to the nation’s press as legal and policy experts. Stanford Law School has established a model for legal education that provides rigorous interdisciplinary training, hands-on experience, global perspective and a focus on public service.