SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 15, 2026 - Queen’s Bench is honored to welcome Professor Karen Musalo, a globally recognized leader at the forefront of women’s rights and asylum law. As the Bank of America Foundation Chair in International Law at UC Law San Francisco and founding director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, Professor Musalo has devoted her career to advancing legal protections for women fleeing gender-based violence.

For more than three decades, Professor Musalo has shaped the legal framework recognizing persecution such as female genital cutting and domestic violence as grounds for asylum—transforming how courts understand gender-based claims to refugee protection. Through landmark litigation and scholarship, her work has been instrumental in securing protections for women whose experiences were historically excluded from asylum law.

Her advocacy sits at the critical intersection of human rights and immigration, demonstrating how the law can respond to the realities faced by women seeking refuge—and why that work remains urgent today.

Karen Musalo will give the 2026 Annual Keynote Address at the Queen’s Bench Gala on November 19, 2026, joining an esteemed group of nationally prominent speakers who have addressed our members. Learn more about our Annual Keynote Series here.