Alia Al-Khatib

Associate Professor of Law aalkhati@syr.edu Curriculum Vitae [PDF]

Alia Al-Khatib (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Law at Syracuse University College of Law. She teaches Employment Discrimination, Torts, and related courses.

Prior to joining the Syracuse Law faculty, Alia was the Clinical Supervisor and Lecturer in the Civil Practice Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and served as the Acting Director for the 2025 to 2026 academic year. In that clinic, Alia instructed and supervised second and third-year law students who represented low-income clients in civil legal matters in Philadelphia.

Alia began teaching after practicing in the areas of civil rights, employment law, and immigrant justice. At a private plaintiff-side firm, she represented individuals who faced employment discrimination or whistleblower retaliation in the workplace. She also worked at two non-profit organizations, where she litigated wage theft and employment discrimination cases on behalf of low-wage workers in Pennsylvania and engaged in litigation and advocacy to advance immigrant and racial justice in the South. After graduating from law school, she clerked for the Honorable Hilda G. Tagle in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Alia’s scholarly interests draw from her experiences in practice. Her research examines employment law and its intersections with the immigration and criminal legal systems, with a particular focus on how these systems shape low-wage work and impact low-wage workers. In her research, she seeks to center the experiences of individuals laboring in precarious jobs.

Alia graduated Order of the Coif summa cum laude from American University Washington College of Law and earned the Dean’s Award for Professional Responsibility for her work in the Immigrant Justice Clinic. She is admitted to the bar in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Texas.