Julia Yoo

Julia Yoo is a civil rights attorney who represents people whose constitutional rights have been violated through wrongful arrest, illegal searches, excessive force, and other government misconduct. Her practice also includes wrongful death claims arising from encounters with police and public officials. She focuses nearly all her legal work on protecting individuals in disputes against law enforcement agencies and government entities with substantial resources.

Yoo earned her J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law and graduated cum laude from Wellesley College with a B.A. After law school in 1998, she founded the Law Center for Women Prisoners, a nonprofit that assisted and advocated for incarcerated women. Working with university externship programs, the organization provided legal help on issues including inadequate prison medical care and termination of parental rights.

Yoo’s litigation experience includes cases involving sexual abuse, harassment, medical neglect, and misconduct in prisons, juvenile facilities, and community supervision. She has also co-authored three briefs filed with the United States Supreme Court and nearly a dozen amicus briefs in appellate courts nationwide. Her appellate work has addressed police encounters involving people with mental illness, homelessness, or disabilities, the treatment of immigrants by federal agents, police use of Tasers, and the right to record police activity.

Julia Yoo is the immediate past president of the National Police Accountability Project, where she was the first woman and first person of color to lead the organization, and serves on the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of California. She has taught law students, spoken nationally, and provided public commentary on police violence, prisoners’ rights, qualified immunity, and alternatives to incarceration. Her honors include the 2016 Roberto Alvarez Award, the 2020 Robert E. Cartwright Award, and recognition in The Best Lawyers in America since 2015.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, Iredale and Yoo, APC
• Member, California State Bar
• Member, National Lawyers Guild
• Member, National Police Accountability Project
• Member, Consumer Attorneys of California
• Member, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego

Licensed State

• California

Education

• University of Colorado School of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• Wellesley College
  Master of Arts (MA)
• Wellesley College
  Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Awards & Badges