Vanessa Ajagu

Vanessa Ajagu is an associate in the New York office of Gibson Dunn, 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. Vanessa regularly handles matters involving foreign law and parties, as well as disputes involving government action and regulatory enforcement.

Vanessa maintains an active pro bono practice, including appellate advocacy and domestic violence survivors’ rights.   She has argued multiple appeals, contributed to several amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, and successfully challenged a decision that reduced attorneys’ fees awarded to The Legal Aid Society based solely on its nonprofit status. She is a member of the Third Circuit’s Pro Bono Panel, serves on the African Affairs Committee of the New York City Bar Association, and is a Board Member of Empowered Network, a nonprofit that supports human trafficking survivors.

Before joining the firm, Vanessa 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 Juris Doctor in 2020 from Columbia Law School, where she was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and served as a Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review. At Columbia Law, she was awarded a Parker School Recognition of Achievement in International and Comparative Law and selected as a fellow for the Salzburg Lloyd N. Cutler Fellows Program in International Law. She received a Master’s in International Criminal Law from the University of Amsterdam in 2020 and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with high distinction from Queen’s University, Ontario Canada in 2017.

Vanessa is admitted to practice before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, and Ninth Circuits; the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; and New York state courts.

Publications

• Co-Author, A Second Look, With Limits: Court of Appeals Defines Scope of the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, New York Law Journal (Oct. 20, 2025).

• Author, Bypassing #MeToo: A Blueprint for Sexual Harassment Protections in Nigeria, 4 UNILAG L. Rev. 1, 26–71 (2020).

Capabilities

• Litigation
• Appellate and Constitutional Law
• Judgment and Arbitral Award Enforcement
• Labor and Employment
• Transnational Litigation

Credentials

Education:

• University of Amsterdam - 2020 Master of Laws (LL.M.)
• Columbia University - 2020 Juris Doctor
• Queen's University - 2017 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• New York Bar

Clerkships:

• US Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, Hon. Gerard E. Lynch, 2022 - 2023
• USDC, Eastern District of New York, Hon. Margo K. Brodie, 2020 - 2021