Vanessa S. Ajagu

Vanessa Ajagu is an attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where she practices in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group.

Vanessa represents clients in high-stakes disputes in federal and state courts, with a focus on appellate and constitutional litigation, cross-border disputes, judgment and arbitral award enforcement, and labor and employment matters. Her practice emphasizes written advocacy at critical stages of litigation, including appeals, dispositive motions, trials, and emergency injunctive proceedings. She regularly handles matters involving foreign law and foreign parties, as well as disputes concerning government action and regulatory enforcement.

Vanessa also maintains an active pro bono practice focused on appellate advocacy and the rights of domestic violence survivors. She is a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit’s Pro Bono Panel, serves on the African Affairs Committee of the New York City Bar Association, and is the founder of Muta Empowerment Initiative, a nonprofit organization that supports women and girls in Eastern Nigeria through educational and economic empowerment programs.
 

Vanessa previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gerard E. Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Margo K. Brodie of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Vanessa received her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2020, where she was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and served as a Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review. While at Columbia, she received the Parker School Recognition of Achievement in International and Comparative Law and was selected as a fellow in the Salzburg Lloyd N. Cutler Fellows Program in International Law. She received an LL.M. in International Criminal Law from the University of Amsterdam and a B.A. in Psychology, with high distinction, from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.