Kavita K. Narayan

Assistant County Counsel

Kavita Narayan joined the Office of the County Counsel in 2012 and was appointed a Lead Deputy in 2017 and an Assistant County Counsel in 2020.  She oversees the Public Safety and Justice team, which advises the County’s criminal justice and emergency response agencies; the Social Justice and Impact Litigation team, which litigates high-impact cases and develops progressive local policies and programs; and legal representation of the County’s Division of Equity and Social Justice.  Kavita also co-leads the Office’s Conflicts of Interest team, which trains and advises County officials and employees on government ethics issues.  In addition, Kavita advises the Board of Supervisors’ Public and Safety Justice Committee and serves as primary assigned counsel to the Office of Emergency Management.  Previously, she oversaw the work of the Child and Family Protection team, which supports the County in addressing and preventing child abuse and neglect.

Kavita is a longtime member of the Social Justice and Impact Litigation and Public Safety and Justice teams.  She has served as a lead attorney in affirmative cases like People v. Purdue Pharma, et al., the Office’s first-in-the-nation lawsuit against the opioid industry; and County of Santa Clara v. Trump, in which the County obtained a permanent injunction blocking enforcement of former President Trump’s Executive Order on “Sanctuary Jurisdictions.”  Kavita has also advised on County policies limiting participation in federal immigration enforcement; counseled the County’s groundbreaking local bail reform efforts; and served in a key advisory role for the County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and several other emergencies.

Kavita’s professional expertise includes:

• Criminal justice law and policy
• Consumer protection litigation
• Local policy development and reform
• California Emergency Services Act and emergency management principles
• California government ethics and conflict of interest laws (Political Reform Act and Government Code Section 1090)

Education

• Stanford Law School, J.D., 2008
• University of Iowa, B.A. with highest distinction and with honors, 2005

Prior Experience

• Staff Attorney at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2010-2012)
• Law Clerk to the Honorable Susan Illston, United States District Court for the Northern District of California (2009-2010)
• Law Clerk to the Honorable Mary M. Schroeder, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2008-2009)