Rosa K. Hirji

Managing Partner

Rosa is a litigation lawyer that has significant special education/civil rights experience.

  • Special Education Lawyer

    Significant experience representing parents at special education due process hearings.

  • educational law

    Rosa has challenged discriminatory practices by litigating the most difficult to win cases, such as cases involving retaliation and restraints.

  • school expulsions

    Represented hundreds of clients at expulsion hearing and appeals for over two decades.

Meet Rosa

Rosa K. Hirji is a litigation attorney for the educational, civil, and disability rights of children and youth. Since 2001 she has advocated on behalf of children with a wide range of disabilities in schools and districts throughout Southern California, standing by their side at IEP meetings, mediation, due process hearings and in state and federal court. 

As a parent of a child with multiple disabilities Rosa relates to her clients’ fierce, emotional desire to protect their children. This personal understanding, combined with her experience  as a teacher in  the Los Angeles Unified School District, has allowed her to foster a reputation for taking on complex and unique cases, as well as offering learned compassion, practical advice, and zealous advocacy to her long-term clients.

Early Years & Education

Born in Tanzania and raised across two continents, Rosa's upbringing was rich with cultural diversity. A spirit for social justice was instilled in her by her father, a political author and biostatistician and only made stronger by growing up in a housing project with other immigrants in Santa Monica. 

While a student at Santa Monica High School, she was awarded a Community Service Award by the City of Santa Monica for her leadership in challenging the impact of economic sanctions against children who faced trauma from war. Then, at  Santa Monica College, she served in the student government as the Director of Budget Management and spearheaded a human rights week that gained national and international attention. She graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a B.A. and Honors in her History major.

It was at UC Hastings Law School, now UC San Francisco School of Law, where Rosa's path to legal advocacy of the disenfranchised and underserved was cemented. At Hastings she was inspired by law professors such as Professor Schiller, who taught administrative law and legal history, as well as  Professor Beatrice Moulton, who was a founder of the public interest concentration at the school. These teachers would lay the groundwork for her future in public interest law. 

As a law student, Rosa continued to develop her unwavering passion for social justice, serving as the Executive Director of the General Assistance Advocacy Project, a nonprofit dedicated to advocating for the unhoused. (More info here)

building a legacy

Rosa’s unwavering dedication to social justice continues to this day. At the Law Offices of Hirji & Chau LLP, Rosa challenges her staff to work hard, get passionate, and be fearless. She understands that in every case there is a sacred opportunity to make a change in someone’s life.

Rosa Hirji's impact extends far beyond the courtroom. She is a mentor and a leader in her field. The vastness of her  support system: Her husband Johnson, children Emma & Samir, and her colleagues Jenny, Alex, Robert, Tania, Travis and Kim, speaks to the familial culture she has nurtured at Hirji, Chau and Rodriguez, LLP. Under Rosa’s leadership, her staff are encouraged to develop professionally and each case is handled with efficiency, passion, and diligence.

For Rosa, the most rewarding aspect of being an attorney is witnessing the tangible difference her work makes in the lives of her clients. Yet still, Rosa and her team often find themselves fighting an uphill battle against biases and systemic hurdles. Yet, their determination to right the wrongs and hold institutions accountable remains unshaken. 

As she looks towards the future, Rosa wants to expand the law office's reach, amplifying the stories of its clients through media outreach and publishing their experiences. Through her work at Hirji, Chau & Rodriguez, and her tireless pursuit of equity, she continues to shape the landscape of advocacy, one case at a time

Community Service

Rosa’s advocacy extends far beyond her work with Hirji, Chau & Rodriguez, LLP. Her practice has a public interest orientation that strives to obtain relief that brings a wider impact for youth and communities.

A founding member of the Los Angeles Juvenile Court Education Panel, Rosa is regularly appointed to represent young people in foster care, juvenile hall, and other institutionalized settings. 

Rosa also currently serves as a part-time Executive Director for Community Lawyers Inc., a nonprofit that provides access to legal services to indigent individuals and families in Compton. She was also a lecturer at the People’s College of Law and publishes writings on children’s law and the school to prison pipeline. 

Rosa is a past co-chair of the Children’s Rights Litigation Committee of the Section of Litigation, American Bar Association, where she worked with national leaders in children’s law to address policy issues that provide access to justice for children. In 2004, she was awarded the Outstanding Committee Chair Award by the American Bar Association for her work related to children with disabilities.