Shira Wakschlag
Senior Executive Officer of Legal Advocacy and General Counsel, The Arc of the United States
Chicago, IL
Summary
Shira Wakschlag is the Senior Executive Officer of Legal Advocacy and General Counsel at The Arc of the United States. She directs The Arc’s disability rights litigation and amicus brief practice, including briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court. Her work focuses on protecting and advancing the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities nationwide, including in education, voting access, criminal justice, and health care.
Expertise
Shira Wakschlag is an expert in disability rights law and impact litigation, with a focus on protecting civil rights nationwide.
Career highlights
- Skadden Fellow, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
- Civil rights litigation attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Leads The Arc’s litigation and amicus practice, educating courts about matters critical to disability rights law
- Recipient, 2022 American Constitution Society David Carliner Public Interest Award
- Published in leading legal and civil rights outlets, including in American University Law Review, Denver Law Review, the ABA’s Human Rights Magazine, and the University of Minnesota’s Impact Magazine
- Served on the board of the Disability Rights Bar Association
- Licensed in Washington, DC and California
Education
JD, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
BA, Brown University
In the news
- USA Today (Dec. 2025): The pending Supreme Court decision that worries disability rights groups
- Prism (Oct. 2025): 60 years on, landmark protections in the Voting Rights Act are being eroded
- CNET (Sept. 2025): DOJ Sues Uber Over Allegations of Refusing Service to Disabled Customers
- The 74 (June 2025): Supreme Court Unanimously Sides With Disabled Student in Lawsuit vs. District
- Washington Post (March 2025): Disabled Americans fear losing protections if states’ lawsuit succeeds
Updated: April 14, 2026
The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
