1 L at William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Graduating Junior at American University (as of Spring 2026)
3 L at Columbia University Law School (as of Spring 2026)
Charles Swift
Criminal Defense Department Head
Charles Swift is the Criminal Department Head at MLFA´s legal Division. He was named by National Law Review as one of the top 100 legal minds in the nation. He is a retired Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Charles is most known for winning the U.S. Supreme Court case Hamdan v. Rumsfeld for his client, Salim Ahmed Hamdan.
Following his military career, Charles was a visiting professor and head of the Humanitarian Law Clinic at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia, before leaving to enter private practice in Seattle.
Charles has been a regular contributor on the topics of military law and terrorism for national news programs including MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, NPR, and Fox News. He has received numerous awards for his advocacy, including recognition as a Distinguished Alumnus at Seattle University School of Law, ACLU’s Roger Baldwin Medal for Distinguished Service, and was runner-up for Lawyer of the Year in 2005 as well as being named one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in 2006 by the National Law Journal.
Sufia Khalid
MLFA Criminal Defense Senior Staff Attorney
Sufia joined the criminal defense department in 2019 and works on federal criminal national security cases. Her work involves Muslim defendants investigated by the FBI´s counter-terrorism division (often cases of entrapment) and prosecuted by the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
Sufia works on cases in both trial and appellate federal courts across the country. She researches and writes motions challenging detention; evidentiary motions challenging unjust classified information procedures, prejudicial and irrelevant evidence, and other evidentiary issues; motions to dismiss on novel constitutional grounds; sentencing memorandums and objections challenging disproportionate sentencing guidelines reserved for Muslim defendants; and appellate arguments.
Sufia prepares cases for trial, co-writes cross examinations for government witnesses including FBI agents, undercovers,forensic experts, terrorism experts, psychiatrists etc. She also co-writes direct exams of defense witnesses, manages eDiscovery and selects trial exhibits, prepares trial outlines, manages and helps prepare defense witnesses. Sufia has participated in two national security jury trials while at CLCMA and has prepared for several others which the criminal department has resolved in extraordinary outcomes shortly before trial.
Sufia is a passionate advocate and anti-racist lawyer. In her work with the criminal department, they have uncovered significant and unconscionable FBI undercover operation tactics used against the most vulnerable in the Muslim community. They have successfully challenged government attempts to keep critical evidence secret, and have achieved exceptional outcomes in case resolution and sentencing for their clients.
Sufia went to law school in England at the University of Sussex before working at the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia and the United Nations Development Programmer Legal Support Office in NYC. She received her LLM at Cardozo Law School, during which she interned at the Legal Aid Society’s Manhattan Trial Office. Sufia also loves to travel (21 countries, and counting) and enjoys exploring the DFW halal foodie scene with her husband.
Suha Najjar
National Criminal Defense Center Staff Attorney
Suha Najjar is a Staff Attorney with the Muslim Legal Fund of America’s National Security Criminal Defense Center. She is committed to defending individuals and communities targeted by discriminatory national security investigations and prosecutions, and to safeguarding constitutional rights against government overreach.
Prior to joining MLFA, Suha served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the District of South Carolina, where she represented clients in complex federal criminal cases through trial and sentencing. She litigated constitutional and evidentiary issues, argued motions in federal court, and worked closely with clients and their families during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Suha earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she was a member of Law Review and received multiple awards for excellence. Before her legal career, she lived and worked in Palestine supporting human rights and community-based initiatives.
At MLFA, Suha is committed to advancing a bold and principled defense of civil liberties, protecting vulnerable communities from unjust targeting, and ensuring that those facing the power of the federal government are met with skilled, fearless, and compassionate advocacy.
Daanesh Jamal
Criminal Defense Department Paralegal
Shafeen Pittal
National Security Defense Criminal Defense,
Staff Attorney
Shafeen Pittal joins MLFA as a Staff Attorney in the National Security Criminal Defense Center. She recently completed a federal clerkship for Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois. Shafeen graduated from Stanford Law School in 2024 where she received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service, the Rhode Public Interest Award, and the Justice Stevens fellowship. During law school, she was a member of the Stanford Law Review, served as a research assistant, and founded and led multiple projects, seminars, and student groups primarily focused on human rights advocacy. She also worked with the Stanford Religious Liberty Clinic, the ACLU National, and Reprieve. Before law school, she worked at Apple as an engineering program manager. She’s passionate about using the law as a form of seeking justice for communities pushed into lawless zones and is grateful to be a part of MLFA in this effort.
Chelsea Estes
Criminal Defense Appellate Attorney
Chelsea joined the MLFA team as an appellate attorney in the criminal defense department because she is passionate about fighting injustice within the legal system. Her background in federal public defense and non-profit work firmly established her desire to champion human rights and be a voice for communities targeted by government authorities.
Chelsea was born and raised in Oklahoma, where she went to college and law school. She graduated from The University of Oklahoma in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, where she served on the University’s student court. In 2013 she graduated from Oklahoma City University School of Law, where she was involved in the Oklahoma Innocence Project and the mock trial team. In 2014, she earned her LL.M. degree in Criminal Defense Trial Advocacy from California Western School of Law. In 2015, she joined Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. as a trial attorney and continued in that role until 2021, when she moved into the appellate unit. While at Federal Defenders, Chelsea tried multiple federal felony jury trials and litigated before the Ninth Circuit. As a federal public defender, Chelsea witnessed the prosecution of victimized populations, which led to her later work as a staff attorney with Free to Thrive, a San Diego-based non-profit organization dedicated to fighting back against the criminalization of human trafficking survivors.
Chelsea’s favorite place to be is at home with her family. Her best days start with coffee, yoga, and the Wordle puzzle.
