Nyssa Chopra

Originally from Southern California and now based in Seattle, Nyssa is a tech and privacy lawyer at Perkins Coie LLP where she advises clients on how to plan for, respond to, and evaluate government, intergovernmental, and third-party demands (primarily from outside the US) to preserve, disclose, or remove user information, and all the privacy, free speech, and human rights issues that those demands raise (whether independently, or in the context of global or humanitarian crises). Previously, she worked at Microsoft as an IP lawyer and was part of the Pro Bono Steering Committee. Additionally, she is an Aspen NextGen Fellow at the Aspen Institute, a Washington Leadership Institute Fellow at the Washington State Bar Association, and the founder of Mentor in Law, a global nonprofit that provides mentorship to law students and early-career lawyers, particularly first-gen and underrepresented groups. She is also the recipient of the 2022 American Bar Association’s On the Rise Top 40 Lawyers Award.

As the daughter of immigrants, Nyssa is a vocal champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (particularly amplifying the voices of women and minorities) and is a fierce supporter of giving back to the community and paying it forward. She maintains an active pro bono practice, and most recently, she worked with UW Law, Berkeley Law, and Women for Afghan Women to complete humanitarian parole applications for Afghan citizens. Additionally, Nyssa is a mentor to many diverse law students, lawyers, and women startup founders through many different organizations (LCLD, Project W, SABA, etc.) and frequently speaks at law schools (Penn Law, Fordham Law, UW Law, etc.) about the value and necessity of mentorship and sponsorship in the legal profession.

Prior to law school, she spent a few years in diplomacy and human rights at U.S. Embassies in New Delhi, Paris, and London through the U.S. Department of State (including the U.S. Mission to UNESCO); freelanced as a travel writer for global publications; and co-founded a health and wellness company.

Additionally, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Berlin, Germany and received a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego, an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.