J.D., Yale Law School 2008 B.A., Stanford University 2004
Bio
Tianna Gibbs is Professor of Law and Director of the Gender Justice Clinic (GJC) at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). Her areas of expertise and scholarly interests include family law, domestic violence, race and the law, poverty law, and access to justice issues that impact litigants in high-volume courts. Professor Gibbs received the 2022 Junior Faculty Award from the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT).
Prior to joining the law faculty at WCL, Professor Gibbs was Professor of Law and Co-Director of the General Practice Clinic at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. She also taught Civil Procedure, Family Law, and Negotiations.
Prior to entering academia, Professor Gibbs was an Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellow and a Supervising Attorney in the Domestic Violence/Family Law Unit at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. While at Legal Aid, she represented domestic violence survivors in custody and civil protection order cases as well as custodial and noncustodial parents in child support cases. She also engaged in policy advocacy and court reform efforts to improve the District’s child support system.
Professor Gibbs is currently a member of the D.C. Child Support Guideline Commission and the District of Columbia Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services. She was previously a member of the Steering Committee of the D.C. Bar Family Law Community, the D.C. Superior Court Paternity and Child Support Rules Drafting Committee, and the D.C. Superior Court Paternity and Child Support Subcommittee of the Family Court Implementation Committee.
Professor Gibbs graduated with a B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from Stanford University, where she was a Gates Millennium Scholar and John Gardner Public Service Fellow. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was an American Bar Association (ABA) Legal Opportunity Scholar and a law student intern in the Community and Economic Development Clinic, Landlord-Tenant Clinic, and Community Lawyering Clinic. She also served as a student supervisor in the Domestic Violence Clinic. While in law school, Professor Gibbs received the Stephen J. Massey Prize, which is awarded to the clinic student who most exhibits the values of the clinical program. She also received the Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellowship.
Professor Gibbs is licensed to practice law in New York and the District of Columbia.
