Mikayla Kolahifar is a Law Clerk at Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C., where she is currently rotating through the firm’s six core departments. Mikayla recently sat for the July 2025 Bar Exam and is awaiting admission to the New York State Bar.

Mikayla received her Juris Doctor, graduating cum laude, from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where she concentrated her studies in Health Law. Upon graduation, Mikayla received the Citation of Excellence in Health Law, the Hofstra Law Review Alumni Writing Award, and a Bronze Level Public Service Certificate. She also received the Hofstra Law Review Robert M. Johnson Outstanding Articles Editor Award and the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Legal Analysis, Research & Writing.

While in law school, Mikayla served as an Articles Editor of Volume 53 of the Hofstra Law Review. Her note, “Governor Hochul’s Unkept Promise: New York’s Ongoing Quest for Accessible Primary Care,” was published in HLR Volume 52, Issue 4. Mikayla has also published her article, “From Cradle to Commencement: Public Health Perspectives on Pediatric Mental Healthcare,” in Voume 30, Issue 2 of the New York State Bar Association Health Law Journal. Additionally, Mikayla also served as President of the Hofstra’s Health Law Society, as a member of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council, as a Student Ambassador, and she participated in the Peer Mentor Program. Furthermore, Mikayla participated in many fellowships while in school. First, Mikayla served for two years as an Advanced Research Fellow with Hofstra’s Gitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy. Notably, as a participant of the Institute’s Clinical Bioethics Program, Mikayla earned a Certificate in Clinical Bioethics from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law and the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine. Second, Mikayla was a three-year Social Justice Fellow with the Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics. Third, Mikayla was named a Bioscience Business Innovation Fellow after participating in the Bioscience Business Innovation Program, during which she worked with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists and Hofstra MBA students to develop a business pitch to venture capitalists.

Outside of her academic achievements, Mikayla worked as a student intern for Hofstra’s Medical Legal Partnership, where she provided legal services to underserved patients in the Hempstead community, and identified and addressed health harming legal needs such as public benefits and health insurance issues, as well as housing issues. Mikayla also worked as a clinic intern for Hofstra’s Community and Economic Development Clinic where she represented non-profit organizations, social movement groups, cooperatives, social enterprises, and other small businesses in business-related matters, as well as in issues related to commercial transactions, corporate compliance, corporate finance, employment law, real estate, and more.