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Our Advocates

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Principals

Jennifer Merrigan

Ms. Merrigan is a Stoneleigh Fellow. She has represented people facing sentences of death and life without parole for twenty years. Her training and background are in capital mitigation, and she has been appointed and has consulted in state and

Jessica Sutton

Ms. Sutton has advocated for individuals facing extreme sentences for over a decade. She began her capital defense practice at the Death Penalty Litigation Clinic in Kansas City, Missouri, where she represented death-sentenced persons in

John Mills

Mr. Mills represents persons under a sentence of death or juvenile life without parole across the country, serving as counsel for persons at every stage of the criminal justice process, from state trial court to the United States Supreme Court. He

Joseph Perkovich

Mr. Perkovich's work with Phillips Black focuses on capital post-conviction litigation in state and federal courts. He trained and previously practiced at global firms in New York, where his work also concerned commercial litigation, white collar

Staff

Abdoulaye Diallo

Mr. Diallo is an associate in our New York office. He graduated from Fordham University School of Law in 2018. Before that he earned a Bachelor’s in Government, with honors and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice with honors from John Jay College

Carly Frieders

Ms. Frieders is a fellow in the Oakland office and is originally from Tucson, Arizona. She graduated from Stanford Law, where she participated in the Criminal Defense Clinic, handled criminal appeals at the First District Appellate Project, and

Elie Kirshner

Mr. Kirshner is a staff attorney in our Philadelphia office. He joined Phillips Black in 2021 as a Public Service Venture Fellow, after receiving his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he participated in the Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project,

Eve Barksdale

Ms. Barksdale is a mitigation specialist based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. She received her undergraduate degree in Arts and Letters from Portland State University and master’s degree in social work at Louisiana State University. She has worked on

Isaac Price-Slade

Mr. Price-Slade is a Larsen Justice Fellow at the Oakland office. He is a 2025 graduate of Berkeley Law. Hailing from Western Massachusetts, he completed his undergraduate studies at Deep Springs College and Wesleyan University. At Berkeley Law, Mr.

Joseph Welling

Mr. Welling is a senior associate attorney in our St. Louis office. Before joining us, Joe clerked for the Honorable Laura Denvir Stith of the Supreme Court of Missouri upon graduation from the Saint Louis University School of Law in 2016. He

Joy Zuccarello

Ms. Zuccarello is a senior mitigation specialist in our Philadelphia office. Her work in the field began in 2010 as a volunteer at the Wisconsin Innocence Project. Prior to joining Phillips Black, she worked as a fact investigator and mitigation

Juliette Peláez

Ms. Pelaez is a paralegal and office manager at the Philadelphia Office. She graduated from Baruch College, New York with a B.A. in Spanish and a minor in Translation. She also holds an M.A.T. in Teaching Foreign Language from Tufts University.

Kristin Swain

Ms. Swain is a senior associate attorney in our St. Louis office and a 2015 graduate of the Saint Louis University School of Law. During her studies, she worked at the Washoe County Public Defender’s office in Reno, Nevada and was one of the first

Monnette Blue

Monnette Blue is an Associate Mitigation Specialist at Phillips Black, Inc. She received her master's degree in paralegal studies at Webster University in Kirkwood, Missouri, and her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Saint Louis University in

Nathalie Greenfield

Ms. Greenfield is an associate attorney and mitigation specialist. She has represented clients facing the death penalty across the US and in sub-Saharan Africa, working in state, federal, and international courts. Ms. Greenfield has expertise in

Nyja Grays

Ms. Grays is a Pre-Law Fellow at Phillips Black. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University in 2025. Prior to attending Georgia State University, she studied abroad for a year in Costa Rica and Spain. While

Raisa Elhadi Tejada

Ms. Elhadi Tejada is an associate in the Oakland office and a 2022 graduate of Columbia Law School. Originally from Minnesota, she studied human rights at the University of Minnesota and went on to work in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon.

Sarah Wishingrad

Ms. Wishingrad is a law fellow in the Oakland office. She is a 2025 graduate of Stanford Law School, where she participated in the Community Law Clinic, the Prisoner Legal Services pro bono project, and the Three Strikes Project. During her summers,

Stephen Lazar

Stephen Lazar is a legal apprentice at the Philadelphia Office, and a formerly incarcerated person who was sentenced to die in prison for a crime he did not commit. While incarcerated he worked in the prison law library assisting fellow prisoners

Thomas Roberts

Mr. Roberts is a staff attorney in our Philadelphia office. He joined Phillips Black as a Harvard Law Review Fellow. A 2023 graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Roberts clerked for the Honorable Gene E.K. Pratter of the Eastern District of

Special counsel

Amy Knight

Ms. Knight represents clients facing the death penalty in state and federal courts nationwide, in all stages of proceedings. She has also represented clients sentenced to life without parole as juveniles, clients who have experienced sexual assault

Lee Kovarsky

Mr. Kovarsky is a Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law, where he teaches Criminal Procedure, Civil Procedure, Federal Jurisdiction, Capital Punishment, and Habeas Corpus. He previously taught at the University of Maryland School

Robert Dunham

Mr. Dunham is the director of the newly created Death Penalty Policy Project and an adjunct professor of death penalty law at the Temple University Beasley School of Law. An internationally recognized expert on capital punishment with more than three

JURISDICTION (TBD)

Phillips Black was initiated in 2014 by the renaming and expansion of the Law Offices of John R. Mills, a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in North Carolina in 2011, to refine the practice focus of the office, as it is stated herein, and to recognize the office’s continuing relationship with other attorneys, also as designated herein.

Mr. Dunham: Mr. Dunham is the director of the Death Penalty Policy Project and is based out of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the state bar of Pennsylvania, is admitted in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Kovarsky: Mr. Kovarsky’s primary office is in Texas. He is a member of the state bar of Texas only and is admitted in various federal courts.

Ms. Knight: Ms. Knight’s primary office is in California. She is a member of the state bars of Arizona, California, and Montana.

Ms. Merrigan: Ms. Merrigan’s primary office is in Pennsylvania. She is a member of the state bars of Missouri and Pennsylvania only and is admitted in various federal courts.

Mr. Mills: Mr. Mills’s primary office is in California. He is a member of the state bars of Arizona, California, and North Carolina only and is admitted in various federal courts.

Mr. Perkovich: Mr. Perkovich’s primary office is in New York. He is a member of the state bar of New York only and is admitted in various federal courts.

Ms. Sutton: Ms. Sutton’s primary office is in Idaho. She is a member of the state bars of Missouri and Massachusetts.

Mr. Diallo: Mr. Diallo’s primary office is in New York. He is a member of the state bar of New York and is supervised by Mr. Perkovich in New York.

Ms. Elhadi: Ms. Elhadi’s primary office is in Maine. She is a member of the state bar of New York and is supervised by Mr. Perkovich and Mr. Mills.

Ms. Greenfield: Ms. Greenfield’s primary office is in New York. She is a member of the state bar of New York and is supervised by Mr. Mills and Ms. Sutton.

Mr. Kirshner: Mr. Kirshner’s primary office is in Pennsylvania. He is a member of the state bar of Pennsylvania and is supervised by Ms. Merrigan.

Ms. Swain: Ms. Swain’s primary office is in Texas. She is a member of the state bar of Missouri.

Mr. Welling: Mr. Welling’s primary office is in Missouri. He is a member of the state bar of Missouri.

Mr. Roberts: Mr. Roberts’ primary office is in Philadelphia. He is a member of the state bar of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Zuccarello: Ms. Zuccarello’s primary office is in Pennsylvania. She is a Senior Mitigation Specialist and is supervised by Ms. Merrigan.

Ms. Blue: Ms. Blue’s primary office is in Missouri. She is an Associate Mitigation Specialist and is supervised by Ms. Sutton.

Ms. Barksdale: Ms. Barksdale’s primary office is in Louisiana. She is an Associate Mitigation Specialist and is supervised by Ms. Sutton.