Laura Hankins is the Chief Legislative Counsel for the Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia ("PDS"). In addition to representing PDS with respect to legislation before the Council of D.C., she represents the agency on the District of Columbia Advisory Sentencing Commission. Ms. Hankins began her legal career in 1992 at PDS where she represented indigent juveniles and adults accused of crimes. After five years in the trial and appellate divisions, Ms. Hankins left PDS to work in the criminal justice section at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. Her job at the Legal Defense Fund required Ms. Hankins to represent clients on both the state and the federal levels in jurisdictions including Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Ms. Hankins returned to PDS in January 2000 to assume her present position. She is also the Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Voting Rights Institute. She received a B.A. in economics from Brown University in 1987 and a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School in 1992.

Last updated April 16, 2002