Aria Vaughan
Phone: 303-578-4400
Fax: 303-578-4401
Email: av@rmlawyers.com
Professional Background
Aria is a civil rights attorney at Rathod │ Mohamedbhai LLC. She has dedicated her career to vindicating the rights of people who have experienced discrimination, as well as the compounded trauma of being betrayed by institutions who have failed them. For over a decade, she has worked to hold those institutions accountable and uplift survivors’ voices.
Experience and Education
As Senior Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Aria handled some of the nation’s most notable civil rights cases. From securing DOJ’s highest ever Title IX financial relief and systemic reforms for college swimmers sexually harassed by their coach to protecting Black students in Utah from egregious racial harassment to holding North Carolina accountable for its notorious anti-trans bathroom bill, Aria has worked tirelessly to defend justice. In addition to personally handling dozens of cases involving the discriminatory use of police in schools, discipline, segregation, seclusion and restraints, sexual assault, and other legal violations, Aria worked on briefs filed in federal courts across the country, including the United States Supreme Court. She trained U.S. Department of Justice lawyers nationwide on civil rights investigations and litigation, becoming a trusted strategic thinker and known champion of our right to live free from discrimination.
Now, she brings her subject matter expertise in fighting discrimination based on sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and assault), race, national origin, religion, and disability to Rathod │ Mohamedbhai LLC. At RM, she represents students, as well as families whose loved ones have died in state or police custody, survivors of sexual assault, and employees who have endured discrimination by their employers.
Aria began her career as law clerk to the Honorable Christine M. Arguello of the U.S. District of Colorado and the Honorable Nancy J. Lichtenstein of the Colorado Court of Appeals. She was also a fellow at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and litigated excessive force claims against Sing Sing Correctional Facility while still a law student at Fordham Law School. She is a Denver native and graduate of East High School and Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Representative Cases
- Secured $4.14 Million for Student-Athletes Sexually Harassed by Swim Coach
- Advocated for Trans Students’ Right to an Education Free from Discrimination in West Virginia and Idaho
- Remedied Severe Racial Harassment of African- and Asian-American Students in Utah
- Addressed Hostile Environment for Muslim and Latino Students in Washington
- Safeguarded Colorado Students’ Right to Learn English in Schools
- United States v. North Carolina (H.B. 2) Trial Team
Recognitions
- Assistant Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award (2022)
- John R. Dunne Award (2021)
- Special Commendation Award, Educational Opportunities Section (2021)
- DOJ Pride James R. Douglass Award (2017)
Selected Speaking Engagements and Publications
Speaker, U.S. Department of Justice Presentation on Power Dynamics in Sports (2024)
Bar Admissions
- Colorado
- New York
- S. District Court for the District of Colorado