Kirby Thomas West

Attorney

Memberships

The Pennsylvania Bar

Kirby Thomas West is an attorney at the Institute for Justice, where she litigates cases protecting First Amendment rights, educational choice, and property rights.

Kirby has litigated educational choice cases in state and federal court, including the United States Supreme Court, where she was a member of the IJ team that won the landmark 2022 ruling in Carson v. Makin.

Kirby also litigates property rights cases, particularly related to civil forfeiture. She is currently litigating two class-action lawsuits challenging forfeitures and impoundments of vehicles, in Detroit and Chicago, respectively.

Kirby’s First Amendment practice focuses primarily on First Amendment retaliation cases. She has active First Amendment retaliation cases in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Kirby received her law degree with honors from Harvard Law School in 2015. While in law school, she served as Articles Editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. She graduated, magna cum laude, from Bucknell University in 2012 with a BA in English and Political Science.

Before joining IJ, Kirby was a litigation associate at Baker Botts, LLP. She clerked for Judge Dennis Shedd of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Kirby's Cases

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Kirby's Amicus Briefs

Kirby's News, Articles & Publications

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