Professor Kara Sheli Wallis ’15 (she/her) is a former public defender and civil rights litigator, who teaches courses in Civil Procedure and impact litigation, ethics and professional responsibility, and legal writing and client-centered lawyering skills, among others.
After graduating from CUNY Law, Kara was a staff attorney at Bronx Defenders, where she represented parents and caregivers in Family Court. In 2020, Kara then joined Florida Justice Institute’s 1983 practice. With Southern Poverty Law Center and Florida Legal Services as co-counsel, Kara primarily litigated class action challenges to Florida’s draconian use of solitary confinement in its state prisons. Prior to law school, Kara was a program and policy associate at Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit focused on combating the criminalization of pregnancy and its outcomes.
Kara additionally holds an M.A. in Ethics and Society from Fordham University (’12) and a B.A. in Philosophy with Departmental Honors from Seattle University (’09).
Publications
Kara S. Wallis, “Harmful Reports: How Federal Mandated Reporting Policy Entrenches Racism in Healthcare Settings and Harms Public Health,” CUNY Law Review (Forthcoming 2025)
Kara Sheli Wallis, Letters to the Editor: Finding the path toward dialogue around Israel’s war in Gaza, L.A. Times (Nov. 10, 2023)
Kara S. Wallis, “Nothing About Us Without Us: Rule of Law, White Supremacy, and the Lack of Legitimacy in Our Federal Courts” (Seattle University Fellowship, Fall 2025)
Katharine McCabe, PhD, Kara S. Wallis, JD, “Harmful Reports: How Federal Law Compromises Healthcare Delivery through Surveillance of Pregnant Patients” (Under Revision After Peer Review)
Kara S. Wallis, “New York State’s Failure to Protect Families with Incarcerated Parents from Federal Law – Revisiting the 2010 ASFA Expanded Discretion Act” (In Progress)
Kara S. Wallis, No Access, No Choice: Foster Youth, Abortion, & State Removal of Children, 18 CUNY L. Rev. 119 (2014)
Bar Admissions
New York State
State of Florida (inactive)
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida (pro hac vice)
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
