Ayesha Cotton

Ayesha L. Cotton is an Associate Attorney at Southworth PC, where she represents federal employees in discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower, and adverse action matters before administrative agencies and courts.

Before joining Southworth PC, Ayesha served as a Managing Attorney with Community Legal Aid Services, Inc., where she supervised advocates, managed complex caseloads, and helped expand access to legal representation across an eight-county service area. She also served as Managing Attorney for the I Promise Project, providing legal representation to families within the LeBron James Family Foundation’s Network.

Her experience spans litigation, negotiation, compliance, policy development, and community advocacy. She has represented clients in matters involving employment, housing, bankruptcy, foreclosure, family law, estate planning, special education, criminal defense, nonprofit compliance, and business formation. This diverse background gives her a practical and strategic approach to advocating for federal employees through complex workplace disputes.

Ayesha is licensed to practice law in Ohio, New York, and the District of Columbia. She is also admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and the Southern District of Ohio.

Ayesha earned her Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where she received an Alternative Dispute Resolution Certificate and Public Service Fellow Distinction. She also studied comparative law abroad at the University of Oxford. Ayesha holds a Master of Education in Prevention Science and Practice from Harvard University Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with a minor in Legal Communications, from Howard University.