Bio

Regina Powers

Regina Powers is a civil rights attorney and client-centered advocate who fights for people harmed by abuses of power and systemic neglect inside jails and prisons. Regina brings a relentless commitment to holding government agencies accountable for the suffering inflicted on people in custody and for families whose loved ones are killed or seriously harmed behind bars.

Before joining Trial Lawyers for Justice, she clerked for a federal judge in Kentucky and litigated civil rights and police misconduct cases at Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP in New York. There, she helped secure the largest civil rights verdict in the Northern District of New York for the family of a man whom corrections officers beat to death in prison. She also contributed to the largest pre-verdict settlement with New York City for a man who suffered a hypoxic brain injury in jail, won certification of a class action challenging racially biased marijuana policing, and prevailed in a federal appeal establishing constitutional liability for jail suicides during drug withdrawal.

Regina’s dedication to advocating for incarcerated people and their families began while she was a student at Harvard Law School, where she represented clients in parole proceedings through the Prison Legal Assistance Project, helping secure the release of individuals serving life sentences. She graduated summa cum laude from Kentucky Wesleyan College.