My name is Charli Cleland.

I am a Ghanaian-American writer, lawyer, and strategist.

I began my legal career in 2016 as a litigator at New York City’s oldest and largest public defender’s office settling conflicts between People and the State.

Since then, I’ve worked in and across many disciplines, settling disputes involving families, tenants and landlords, clients and vendors, boards and their members, parents and teachers, fiscal sponsors and projects, and workers and employers.

I’ve also held leadership roles at the Legal Defense Fund, where I designed and led an advocacy campaign; served as general counsel of the Earth Island Institute; and served as inaugural legal director at the Mill Law Center, where I helped design systems and address operational gaps.

I believe that competing needs don’t always have to produce winners and losers, even during conflict.