Malia Brink

Malia Brink is a Lecturer-in-Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a legal expert in criminal justice reform, with a focus on public defense and the right to counsel. She serves as Associate Counsel for Public Defense to the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (ABA SCLAID), and as Deputy Director for its Public Defender Workload Study and Misdemeanor Court Observation Projects.

Her educational background includes an honors degree from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and Dartmouth College. She clerked for the Honorable Norma L. Shapiro of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Brink's research and professional work are centered on strengthening public defense systems, reducing court workloads, and ensuring equitable access to justice. Her expertise spans criminal law, constitutional law, and legal policy reform, with a particular emphasis on misdemeanor courts and institutional development in legal aid organizations.

Her career includes leadership roles such as Public Defense Project Director at American University's Justice Programs Office and Director of Institutional Development and Policy Counsel at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She began her legal career as a Jerome J. Shestack Public Interest Fellow at Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen, LLP, and as a Staff Attorney at the ACLU in Philadelphia.

• Associate Counsel for Public Defense, ABA SCLAID
• Deputy Director, Public Defender Workload Study Projects
• Deputy Director, Misdemeanor Court Observation Projects

She advises on national-level legal reform initiatives and has contributed to policy development in indigent defense. Although no formal grants are listed, her work with ABA and American University suggests involvement in funded research and observation projects. She teaches a seminar on the Right to Counsel at Penn Law.

Brink is affiliated with key legal reform teams at the ABA and collaborates with national organizations focused on criminal defense and access to justice.