Erika A. Kargbo is Counsel in the Litigation Department at

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP where she specializes in white collar

criminal defense and investigations. Her matters have included

grand jury, regulatory and independent investigations, representing companies and individuals in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct, securities fraud, and anti-money laundering violations, among other areas. Erika also has experience in representing corporate directors and officers and companies in complex civil matters, involving antitrust aspects of mergers and acquisitions, whistleblower claims and securities fraud.

 

Erika maintains a robust pro bono practice. She recently briefed and argued a criminal resentencing appeal before the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, and co-authored two amicus briefs to the Supreme Court of the United States—one concerning federal gun possession laws on behalf of Everytown for Gun Safety, which is the country’s largest gun violence prevention organization; and the second concerning unwarranted police use of deadly force on behalf of Gifford’s Law Center. Erika also has worked on a myriad of other pro bono matters, including immigration, contract disputes, criminal, and civil rights cases, including representing Eric Garner’s mother and a number of petitioners in a rare judicial inquiry into the death of Eric Garner. In 2019 and 2022, she received a Davis Polk Pro Bono Award for her outstanding work and dedication to pro bono services.

 

Erika also engages in leadership at Davis Polk, including currently serving as a Steering Committee member of Davis Polk’s Black Affinity Group. She is also a 2019-2020 fellow of the New York City Bar’s Associate Leadership Institute (ALI), and sits on the Advisory Board for the Institute of Inclusion in the Legal Profession.

 

In 2015, Erika served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Susan G. Braden in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Law from Temple University, and a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law where she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Howard Law Journal. Prior to law school, Erika worked as a paralegal in the Child Abuse/Sex Crimes Bureau at the Office of the District Attorney, Bronx County. Outside of work, Erika serves on the Executive Leadership Team of C.O.O.L. Kids, Inc., a New York based not-for-profit organization that is committed to cultivating the next generation of socially conscious leaders in underserved communities by mobilizing young professionals of color. She also is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,

Inc.