Yveka Pierre, J.D., is the Associate Director of Litigation at If/When/How, where she investigates and litigates cases in state and federal courts. She litigates criminal defense cases, both as counsel and through technical support of partners, where people are criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes. Yveka also creates and supports partnerships with lawyers and legal organizations, including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Association for Public Defense, state public defender agencies, and local bar associations, to train lawyers across the country in defending people criminalized for their reproductive lives. 

Yveka was the inaugural criminal defense attorney at the SIA Legal Team. When the SIA Legal Team joined forces with If/When/How in 2019, she led the development of If/When/How’s defender training program. She has defended many people accused of crimes for their pregnancy outcomes, including cases in Ohio and Texas where courts dismissed homicide charges after trial.  In addition to criminal defense and defender training, Yveka engages in scholarship and speaks to the media to advance the public and the legal profession’s understanding and response to pregnancy criminalization. Her scholarly works include Extradition in Post-Roe America, 26 CUNY L. Rev. 1 (2023), and Gatekeeping Unreliable Forensic Evidence in Cases of Pregnancy Outcome Criminalization, American Bar Association Criminal Justice Magazine (July 18, 2025).  Yveka was previously a public defender at the Legal Aid Society in Manhattan. She is a graduate of Florida State University and University of District of Columbia School of Law.