Payal Shah

Payal Shah is the Legal Fellow for Asia in the International Legal Program. Her work at the Center includes litigation and advocacy on India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines around issues of abortion, maternal mortality and morbidity, and access to contraception and family planning services. Before joining the Center, she was a Litigation Associate at the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, where she worked pro bono with the Center litigating Carey v. Maricopa County, et al., conducting fact-finding and drafting submissions to the UN on the reproductive health rights of women in conflict in Nepal, and updating Bringing Rights to Bear. Ms.Shah has assisted with impact litigation and fact-finding on violations of the rights to health and education in China in addition to contributing to public interest litigation on forced sterilization and the right to treatment for HIV/AIDS in India. She received her JD from the Columbia University School of Law, where she was a James Kent and Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and was awarded a Certificate in Comparative and International Law. She was co-editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journal of Asian Law, and has published on international women’s rights in the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. She received a BA with High Honors from Swarthmore College with a dual major in Political Science and Asian Studies as well as a minor in Chinese Language and Literature.