Cecillia Wang

Cecillia Wang is the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. She leads the national Legal Department and guides more than 200 lawyers and support staff. She also works with legal teams across 54 state affiliates and helps direct the ACLU’s work before the United States Supreme Court.

Cecillia graduated from Yale Law School in 1995, where she served as an articles editor for The Yale Law Journal. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1992 with an A.B. in English (highest honors) and in Biology. She also clerked for Justice Harry A. Blackmun and Judge William A. Norris.

Cecillia has worked as an ACLU lawyer for more than two decades. From 2016 to 2024, she served as deputy legal director and led the Center for Democracy. Her work covered immigrants’ rights, voting rights, national security, human rights, speech, privacy, and technology across complex national policy and legal issues.

Cecillia helped challenge major federal policies during the Trump administration. Under her leadership, the ACLU challenged the Muslim ban, the border wall, family separation policies, and the effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. She also directed the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project and taught at law schools.

Cecillia was named to Forbes’ “50 Over 50” list. She received honors from the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt law schools, Sierra Club, National Lawyers Guild, California Rural Legal Assistance, Yale Law School’s Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, and Asian American Bar Association of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Cecillia Wang has argued and won important cases in federal courts, including immigration, civil rights, and criminal defense matters. Her work includes Supreme Court advocacy, challenges to immigration detention rules, and cases involving racial profiling and illegal detentions. Her career reflects steady legal leadership and strong, enduring public-interest advocacy.

Law Office Affiliations

• National Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• Member, State Bar of California

Licensed State

• California

Education

• Yale Law School
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• U.C. Berkeley
  AB in English & Biology

Awards & Badges