Member Spotlight: Yana Hart

Written by Madison Kovall*

It takes a particular kind of courage to enter a foreign country where you do not speak the language, understand the customs, or recognize a single word on a sign. At nineteen years old, Yana Hart did exactly that, stepping off a plane in New York and driving to Philadelphia, armed with little more than the belief that she belonged there.

What followed was a journey of finding her voice and then dedicating her career to helping others do the same.

Yana was born in Kazakhstan and moved to Russia at age twelve. Few people who know her today would guess that her formative years were spent as a circus gymnast, an upbringing that instilled discipline and mental toughness that would define everything she later pursued. She began her undergraduate education in Russia, studying architectural engineering and law, developing an early appreciation for the frameworks that hold things together.

When she arrived in Philadelphia, she experienced the cultural shock familiar to many immigrants. Rather than retreating, she leaned in. She enrolled in college, studied business administration, and taught herself English.

Yana had long admired the legal profession. Before she ever set foot in a law school classroom, she worked as a secretary at a boutique law firm, where she was exposed to nearly every area of law imaginable. It was there that she discovered something unexpected: her talent for debate. Her boss, who became an influential mentor, challenged her to argue, push back, and defend her positions. She spent countless hours researching at the local law library with the same focused intensity she once brought to the gymnasium floor. Using Westlaw to study cases and legal authorities, she had no idea that years later her own work would be published on the very same platform.

Her philosophy took shape early: keep it simple. Legalese is not a prerequisite for effective advocacy.

After graduating summa cum laude from Cabrini College, Yana knew her path. She took the LSAT, then traveled across the country to attend Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. Every course interested her—but civil procedure, evidence, and constitutional law captivated her the most. It is perhaps no surprise that all three subjects concern foundational pieces of legal disputes, echoing the architectural sensibility she had studied years earlier in a different language on a different continent. Alongside her academic achievements, Yana joined law review and participated in a business and IP legal clinic.

If you had visited her apartment during law school, you might have been blinded by the colorful Post-it notes covering nearly every surface. Every English word she did not know was written down immediately. Because she had not yet worked her way through the entire dictionary, she was caught off guard when she learned she had been named valedictorian. The word, it turned out, had not yet made it onto a Post-it note. 

After graduation, Yana opened her own law firm, helping immigrants seek asylum and handling early consumer matters—work that connected directly to her own experience of arriving in a new country without a safety net. She also volunteered countless hours at legal clinics throughout San Diego, including the San Diego Small Claims Legal Advisory, the El Cajon Legal Clinic, and the San Diego Appellate Clinic.

As a private practitioner fresh out of law school, she wasted no time hanging her own shingle. She hustled—taking contract work, handling pro bono cases, and volunteering whenever possible to sharpen her skills and expand her knowledge. She credits her mentors as indispensable during that period of her life.

After building her own practice, she then joined a private law firm as an associate. Her transition into consumer rights law gave her the opportunity to manage cases from start to finish. Recognized for her leadership and skilled advocacy, she advanced quickly and became a managing associate early in her career.

Today, Yana is a partner at Clarkson Law Firm, where she manages her own team and leads the firm’s AI and data privacy practice—one of the most consequential and rapidly evolving areas of law in the country. She has litigated hundreds of consumer protection matters, from complex individual cases to large-scale class actions.

Among her most recent accomplishments, she and co-lead counsel secured preliminary approval of a $250 million class action settlement against Apple, a case that reflects the kind of large-scale advocacy she has always believed in: ensuring that everyday people receive representation at the highest level.

Yana has become increasingly drawn to the federal court system and its demanding standards. For her, the challenge is not a deterrent but an invitation to excel. “It requires you to bring your best case forward on day one,” she says. Respected by judges and peers alike, she continues to find ways to serve the legal community as a volunteer, a Lawyer Representative, and a mentor.

At the core of everything she does is an unwavering belief that others, much like her younger self, deserve to be here, too. She earned her seat at the table, and she is determined to hold the door open for those who come after her.

Away from the law, Yana prioritizes family. She spends as much time as possible with her children, whether at the beach, the zoo, or simply exploring all that San Diego has to offer. She practices yoga and Pilates and has recently taken on a new challenge: learning American Sign Language. In doing so, she continues her lifelong pursuit of helping people find their voice—even when words are not readily available.

*Madison Kovall is a Public Relations Committee Member of the Federal Bar Association’s San Diego Chapter. She is a California Western School of Law graduate and Hershey, PA native. Madison specializes in legal matters related to housing for disadvantaged seniors at Elder Law & Advocacy.