Emily Kirby

Director of Legal Strategy & Policy / Acting General Counsel

Emily Kirby is GovAct’s Director of Legal Strategy and Policy / Acting General Counsel. 

Prior to joining GovAct, Emily served as Deputy General Counsel to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.  In this role, she counseled the Governor and Office of the Governor on all legal and policy matters impacting the executive branch, supervised litigation, and liaised with the administration’s agency general counsels and the Attorney General’s Office. She also helped to manage the state’s COVID-19 legal response, through the drafting of executive orders, development of health-based policy, and coordination of litigation strategy. 

As Deputy General Counsel, Emily also shaped the state’s reproductive rights efforts following the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade and the North Carolina state legislature’s enactment of a 12-week abortion ban. Emily also served on the Executive Committee of the Reproductive Freedom Alliance.  

Previously, Emily worked in private practice, served as in-house counsel to San Francisco-based startup companies, and worked in various capacities on state and national political campaigns. 

Emily has a B.A. from Williams College, M.P.P. from Duke University, and J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.