Kirby Thomas West is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, where she is also the co-director of IJ’s National Initiative to End Forfeiture Abuse. She joined IJ in 2018 and litigates cases defending property rights, free speech, and educational choice.
In her time at IJ, Kirby has launched challenges to unconstitutional civil forfeiture and impoundment schemes. She has also litigated educational choice cases, including as part of the IJ team that litigated Carson v. Makin, a landmark educational choice case decided in 2022.
In 2024, Kirby was a Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School.
Before joining IJ, Kirby Was an attorney at Baker Botts LLP, in Washington D.C. She clerked for Judge Dennis Shedd of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Kirby received her law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2015.
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Property Litigation
William & Mary Student Chapter
The Marshall–Wythe School of Law613 S Henry St
Williamsburg, VA 23187
From Protection to Profit: When Cities Turn Code Enforcement into a Revenue Stream
Houston Student Chapter
University of Houston Law Center4170 Martin Luther King Blvd
Houston, TX 77204
Civil Asset Forfeiture
Patrick Henry Student Chapter
Patrick Henry College10 Patrick Henry Circle
Purcellville, VA 20132
The Future of School Choice: What's Next After Espinoza and Carlson
Cornell Student Chapter
Cornell Law SchoolCornell Law School
Ithaca, NY 14850
A Seat at the Sitting - October 2024
The October Docket in 90 Minutes or Less
Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting...
A Seat at the Sitting - October 2024
The October Docket in 90 Minutes or Less
Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting...
Learning to Change: New Takes on Education Reform
Federalist Society Review, Volume 22
A Review of: The Choice We Face: How Segregation, Race, and Power Have Shaped America’s...
