Jaimie Cavanaugh

Jaimie Cavanaugh is an attorney with the Institute for Justice. Her practice focuses on economic liberty and private property. As part of IJ’s legislative team, Jaimie works to expand access to healthcare by ending certificate of need laws. In 2020, she authored the report, Conning the Competition. She also works to end the overuse of fines and fees that can trap people, especially the poor, in the criminal justice system.

As a litigator, her work has led to the recognition of the right to economic liberty by the Georgia Supreme Court and ended New Jersey’s ban on selling homemade baked goods. In Minnesota, she secured a victory for winemakers who wanted to use ingredients from other states and eased continuing legal education requirements for attorneys.

Her views have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Bloomberg and other media outlets.

Growing up outside Detroit, Jaimie learned that individuals, not the government, know what is best for themselves and their families. Jaimie studied Linguistics and German at the University of Michigan and earned her J.D. from the University of Colorado. Following law school, she completed a judicial fellowship with Justice Monica M. Márquez of the Colorado Supreme Court and interned for Exxon Mobil in Hanover, Germany.