Sophia Heller

Managing Attorney

(518) 438-8046  ext. 1106

sheller@plsny.org

Sophia joined PLS as a staff attorney in 2011 after graduating from Georgetown Law. At PLS she has litigated a range of issues in federal and state court, including damage actions for wrongful solitary confinement, excessive use of force by guards, the failure to protect incarcerated individuals from assault by other prisoners, state writs of habeas corpus, and challenges to agency decisions through Article 78 proceedings. She became Managing Attorney of PLS’ Albany office in 2018. Prior to law school Sophia earned a B.F.A. in film from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Ph.D. in mythological studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Her decision to attend law school was motivated, in large part, by her inability to satisfactorily answer the question of what one does with a Ph.D. in mythological studies. A class on prison law ignited a passion for prisoner rights, and she hasn’t looked back since. Sophia was also a contestant on NPR’s “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” in 2009 and proudly uses Carl Kassell’s recorded greeting on her voicemail to this day.