Aria Vaughan

Phone: 303-578-4400

Fax: 303-578-4401

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 litigated some of the nation’s most notable civil rights cases. From securing landmark financial relief and systemic reforms for college athletes 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. She personally handled dozens of cases involving the discriminatory use of police in schools, discipline, segregation, seclusion and restraints, sexual assault, and harassment. 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 constitutional rights.

Now, she brings her 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 seeking discrimination-free education, survivors of sexual assault, employees who have endured discrimination at work, and people who have been abused in state and police custody

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 a fellow at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and litigated excessive force claims against Sing Sing Correctional Facility while still a student at Fordham Law School. She is a Denver native and graduate of East High School and Metropolitan State University.

Representative Cases

Recognitions

Assistant Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions to the Civil Rights Division (2022)
Civil Rights Division’s John R. Dunne Award for exceptional accomplishments in the furtherance of civil rights (2021)
Civil Rights Division’s Special Commendation for outstanding contributions to mission of the Educational Opportunities Section (2021)
Civil Rights Division’s Special Achievement Award for exemplary service to the Department of Justice’s civil rights mission (2016-2020, 2023, 2024)
James R. Douglass Award for improving the work-life of LGBT employees (2017)

Selected Speaking Engagements and Publications

Presenter, New Approaches to Federal Civil Rights Enforcement, Education Law Association National Conference (2025)

Speaker, U.S. Department of Justice Presents: Power Dynamics and Abuse in Sports (2024)

Assistant Author, Colorado Criminal Practice and Procedure, updates (2011-12, 2013-14)

Bar Admissions

Colorado
Idaho
New York
S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals