Malia N. Brink has spent more than 20 years working in criminal justice research and reform advocacy. She currently serves as Senior Policy Attorney at the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at SMU Law School, where she directs the projects on initial appearance and charging times. Prior to joining the Deason Center, Brink served as the Counsel for Indigent Defense to the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (ABA SCLAID). While at the ABA, Brink served as Deputy Director for the ABA SCLAID’s Public Defender Workload Study Projects and the Misdemeanor Court Observation Projects. Brink has taught at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, American University School of Public Affairs and Georgetown Law Center.
Brink served as the Public Defense Project Director at the Justice Programs Office of American University and as the Director of Institutional Development and Policy Counsel at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Brink began her legal career as the Jerome J. Shestack Public Interest Fellow at Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen, LLP and a Staff Attorney at the ACLU in Philadelphia. Brink clerked for the Honorable Norma L. Shapiro of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.