Makala L. Graves

Makala earned her J.D. in 2022 from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where she distinguished herself as president of the Black Law Students Association from Fall 2020 to Spring 2021. She also served as the case note and comment editor for the Loyola Law Review Editorial Board during her final year. In addition to her leadership roles, Makala worked as an education law research assistant for Professor Robert Garda, co-authoring a chapter for the textbook Special Education for All, and conducted research with Professor Mitchell Crusto on enhancing diversity within the legal profession.

In 2024, Makala furthered her legal expertise by obtaining a certificate in Entertainment and Industry from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. She holds an M.S. in Political Science with a minor in International Relations from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she also participated in a semester abroad in the European Affairs Master’s degree program at the University of Lille. Makala earned her B.S. in Political Science, focusing on Foreign and National Security Affairs, from the University of Nebraska in 2017.

Currently, Makala serves as the VP of Internal Communications on the Executive Board of the Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Legal Society. Before joining Ogletree Deakins, she was an associate at Gordon Arata Montgomery Barnett, primarily focusing on Employment Law and civil litigation. There, she played a key role in various matters, including successfully drafting a Second Circuit Appellate Brief that led to a $2 million judgment being vacated.

During law school, Makala also gained valuable experience as a law clerk at Citizen SHE United, where she conducted legal and legislative research and developed training programs. Her work there included co-authoring several articles for platforms like Bloomberg Law. In 2021, she became the director of programming and operations at Citizen SHE, where she led the development of a fellowship for 12 African American women-led nonprofit organizations, aimed at increasing civic engagement and understanding across the state.