LAURA NIRIDER

Co-Founder Laura Nirider brings 15 years of experience as a globally prominent lawyer, criminal justice expert, and public advocate. A former law professor at Northwestern University, Laura has helped exonerate more than 20 innocent individuals around the country and is publicly known for her work on high-profile cases, including the West Memphis and Three and Brendan Dassey of Netflix’s Making a Murderer.  

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Laura is a leading expert on many aspects of the criminal justice system, including police investigations, interrogations, juvenile justice, and exonerations.  Her work has been cited by the United States Supreme Court in cases establishing greater protections for children; she has co-authored several scholarly book chapters and articles with renowned experts; and she is a sought-after speaker by both lay audiences and legal audiences.  In 2019, Laura undertook a popular global speaking tour that covered forty cities and four continents.  In subsequent years, her podcast, False Confessions, written and co-hosted with Steve Drizin, debuted at #1 on the Apple charts and won a Webby People's Choice Award.

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Inspired by the public’s explosive interest in stories of injustice, Laura formed AJFA to engage everyday people, elected officials, and change makers around the nation in work that, previously, some had been lucky enough not to see.