Alyza D. Lewin is a co-founder and partner in Lewin & Lewin, LLP where she specializes in litigation, mediation and government relations. She is also the President and General Counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a non-profit organization established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. The Brandeis Center conducts research, education and advocacy to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses.
Ms. Lewin has represented numerous high-profile clients. Her work includes criminal defense, civil litigation, anti-discrimination, security clearance and Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) matters. In 2014, Lewin argued Zivotofsky v. Kerry (the “Jerusalem Passport” case) before the U.S. Supreme Court, a case involving the constitutionality of a law granting any American citizen born in Jerusalem the right to list “Israel” as the place of birth on his/her U.S. passport. Ms. Lewin was involved in the 12-year pro-bono litigation conducted by her firm in the District of Columbia courts and in the Supreme Court of the United States.
Ms. Lewin, together with her father Nathan Lewin, also successfully represented the Boim family in its landmark civil tort litigation which established the right of American victims of terror to obtain damages under American law against organizations that knowingly provide financial support to international terrorist groups. Boim v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief, 549 F.3d 685 (7th Cir. 2008).
Prior to establishing Lewin & Lewin in May 2002, Ms. Lewin worked at Wilmer Cutler and Pickering (now WilmerHale) and at Miller Cassidy Larroca and Lewin. Ms. Lewin began her law career in Israel where she clerked on the Supreme Court for Deputy President Justice Menachem Elon. Ms. Lewin is the Immediate Past President of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (“AAJLJ). She served as AAJLJ President from 2012 – 2017. Ms. Lewin has also served on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Relations Council (“JCRC”) of Greater Washington and the Board of Directors of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
Ms. Lewin is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and New York. She was trained as a mediator by the American Arbitration Association and the Center for Dispute Settlement. Ms. Lewin received her B.A. from Princeton University in 1988 and a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1992. She is married to Eliezer M. Halbfinger and has four children.
