Luma Khabbaz

Luma Khabbaz is an associate at Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP. She works on complex litigation and prelitigation matters in federal and state court.

Ms. Khabbaz received a J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. During law school, Ms. Khabbaz participated in the civil rights litigation clinic through the MacArthur Justice Center in Chicago working on prisoners’ rights and police misconduct litigation.  She completed legal internships at both Legal Aid Chicago and the Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office and a legal externship at the EEOC Chicago District Office.She was also the Senior Equity and Inclusion Editor for Northwestern University Law Review. In law school, she received the following awards: the Tom Geraghty Leadership Award, the Len Rubinowitz Public Interest Fellowship, the Theresa D. Copper Diversity & Inclusion Award, and a 2022 Women’s Bar Foundation Scholarship.

Ms. Khabbaz received a B.A. in International Studies and a B.A.J. in Journalism from Indiana University. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Khabbaz worked at the United Nations Population Fund, working to advance global sexual and reproductive health and rights.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

• California Coalition for Women Prisoners v. United States of America Federal Bureau of Prisons, N.D. Cal No. 4:23-cv-04155-YGR: RBGG and co-counsel Rights Behind Bars, California Coalition for Immigrant Justice, and Arnold & Porter LLP, filed a class action on August 16, 2023 on behalf of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (“CCWP”) against the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) challenging rampant sexual abuse and harassment by officers at FCI Dublin as well as lack of mental and medical health care for survivors. Alongside the complaint, we filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, to immediately remedy many of the systemic problems. Following nine days of evidentiary hearings in January 2024, and the Court’s touring of the facility in February 2024, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion and ordered appointment of a Special Master on March 15, 2023. Days after the monitor began work, BOP abruptly closed the facility and moved hundreds of class members to prisons across the country under inhumane conditions, in an apparent attempt to evade accountability. Despite multiple unsuccessful attempts by BOP to end monitoring and terminate the lawsuit, the court issued multiple orders extending the powers of the monitor to oversee treatment and conditions of people transferred from Dublin. Following months of intensive negotiations, the parties reached an unprecedented Consent Decree. If approved, the Consent Decree will be enforced at over a dozen federal women’s prisons where nearly 500 class members are now housed, for the next two years. The tentative agreement mandates robust oversight and remedies for issues related to staff sexual and physical abuse, retaliation, medical care, and case work. More information about the case and a copy of the Consent Decree is available here.