Vasudha Talla is an experienced litigator and advocate with over fifteen years of experience representing clients in complex civil litigation in California and New York. Her practice includes civil rights and commercial matters in both federal and state courts at the trial and appellate level.
Ms. Talla maintains a diverse civil rights practice that includes constitutional litigation challenging federal, state, and local practices targeting immigrants and refugees; illegal prison and jail conditions; excessive force, mass surveillance, and other unlawful practices by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; First Amendment violations; access to counsel; and wrongful conviction. She has extensive experience litigating Section 1983 cases as well as cases under the Federal Tort Claims Act, FOIA and state-level open records statutes, and state tort law.
Ms. Talla also handles employment and housing discrimination cases alleging discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, familial status, pregnancy, and source of income. Her commercial practice includes contract, business, and tort disputes.
Ms. Talla has obtained significant damages and injunctive relief for her clients, including in Nunez v. City of New York (consent judgment with court-appointed monitor to oversee protections for individuals incarcerated on Rikers Island and DOC custody) and Coalition on Homelessness v. City and County of San Francisco (consent judgment with protections for unhoused people and their belongings). She has overseen the administration of class action settlements delivering significant monetary relief to class members, including in Jones v. City of New York (over $170 million in claims-made settlement for individuals overdetained even though they were entitled to release on bail) and Onadia v. City of New York (settlement fund of up to $92.5 million for individuals overdetained on the basis of ICE detainer requests).
Outside of the firm, she serves as a member of the Board of the ACLU Foundation of Northern California.
From 2017 to 2022, Ms. Talla served as senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Northern California, and as director of its immigrants’ rights team. There, she led a team of attorneys and investigators engaged in high-impact integrated advocacy to advance and protect the rights of immigrants on issues such as immigration detention and enforcement; surveillance, data sharing and privacy; driver’s licenses and the Real ID Act; and religious and racial discrimination. Her cases and campaigns have been featured in national media outlets, including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and The Intercept.
Ms. Talla is a graduate of New York University and Yale Law School. After law school, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Keith P. Ellison in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and as an Arthur P. Liman Fellow with Sanctuary for Families in New York. She has also worked at the International Refugee Assistance Project in Beirut and New York, as well as the Civilian Complaint Review Board in New York.
Education
Yale Law School, J.D., 2009
New York University, B.A., 2004
Clerkship
Hon. Keith P. Ellison, Southern District of Texas
Admissions
New York
California
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
Memberships
Director, Board of ACLU Foundation of Northern California, 2026 to present
Member, South Asian Bar Association of Northern California, 2023 to present
Fellow, South Asian Bar Association Strategic Leadership Institute, 2025
Attorney News
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Vasudha Talla Becomes a Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP
January 5, 2026
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ECBAWM Secures Landmark Consent Judgment Requiring San Francisco to Protect Unhoused People’s Belongings
October 9, 2025
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Tufts doctoral student and ECBAWM client Rümeysa Öztürk is released from ICE custody
May 12, 2025
Representative Cases
Coalition on Homelessness v. San Francisco
With co-counsel ACLU and LCCR, challenged City’s destruction of unhoused people’s belongings, resulting in landmark consent judgment. Defeated City’s motion for summary judgment on Monell claims and individual and associational standing.Ozturk v. Hyde
With co-counsel ACLU and CLEAR, litigating habeas petition for Rumseya Ozturk, Turkish student unlawfully arrested and detained by ICE for writing op-ed in student newspaper.Jones v. City of New York
Appointed class counsel in class action challenging City’s delays in releasing people on bail. Oversaw administration of $170 million in settlement awards to class members.Onadia v. City of New York
Appointed class counsel in class action challenging City’s detention of individuals subject to ICE detainers. Overseeing administration of $92.5 million settlement fund.Immigrants’ Rights Work
Bukle v. United States
Lead counsel in Federal Tort Claims Act suit on behalf of U.S. citizen falsely arrested and detained by ICE for over 30 days, filed with Asian Law Caucus.Solano v. ICE
Lead counsel in injunctive lawsuit successfully challenging ICE’s unlawful use of private contractors to make civil immigration arrests. Under settlement, ICE changed its arrest practices and procedures in California, required new training, and was subject to monitoring of its arrest practices, filed with Asian Law Caucus.Lagleva v. Doyle
Lead counsel in lawsuit challenging Marin County Sheriff’s practice of sharing personal information collected through mass surveillance technology with out-of-state and federal agencies in violation of California statutes, filed with Electronic Frontier Foundation. Under settlement, the Marin County Sheriff conceded that state law prohibits the widespread sharing of personal information and changed its policies.Echeveste v. Jones
Counsel in suit challenging Sacramento County Sheriff’s unlawful collaboration with ICE in violation of California Values Act and other state laws.Publications
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“ACLU Calls on Tech Companies To End Their Alliance with ICE and CBP"
Sept. 9, 2020, ACLU National blog, https://bit.ly/3MIIZpK. —
ACLU National Blog -
"Records Reveal ICE Agents Run Thousands of License Plate Queries a Month in Massive Location Database" (with Matt Cagle)
June 5, 2019 —
ACLU NorCal blog -
"Documents Reveal ICE Using Driver Location Data from Local Police for Deportations"
March 13, 2019 —
ACLU NorCal blog
Education
Yale Law School, J.D., 2009
New York University, B.A., 2004
Clerkship
Hon. Keith P. Ellison, Southern District of Texas
Admissions
New York
California
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
Memberships
Director, Board of ACLU Foundation of Northern California, 2026 to present
Member, South Asian Bar Association of Northern California, 2023 to present
Fellow, South Asian Bar Association Strategic Leadership Institute, 2025