Her dynamic practice includes civil and commercial litigation, administrative disputes, real estate transactions and disputes, immigration advocacy and specialty visas, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
LITIGATION
Yusra is a fierce advocate for her clients and ensures a professional and productive working relationship with opposing counsel to help achieve her client’s goals. Early in her career, Yusra worked at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General where she represented the Department of Child Safety (DCS) in child welfare proceedings as a trial attorney. She also counseled the DCS to ensure compliance with applicable laws and policies, including A.R.S. Title 8 – Child Safety. During her tenure, Yusra managed over 140 active cases and independently litigated over 20 contested trials, as well as prosecutorial functions involving the rights of parents, guardians, and legal custodians at all stages of litigation.
A few examples of her recent litigation experience include:
- Obtained dismissal of 100+ federal lawsuits brought by a serial plaintiff against multiple hotels alleging ADA violations in Gastelum v. Canyon Hospitality, LLC and Canyon Education, Inc.
- Obtained summary judgment on claims that were barred by the statute of limitations in a multi-million-dollar dispute.
- Represented a variety of companies in creditor’s rights matters involving nonpayment of tendered services and contractual obligations.
- Obtained summary judgment voiding an option contract which, if enforced, would result in an unconscionable property transaction.
- Researched and assisted senior counsel with a complex estate planning and probate matter involving significant settlement for the client.
ADMINISTRATIVE DISPUTES
- Successfully represented physician client facing significant repercussions in the medical community, by employers, state medical boards, and a specialty board due to inconsistent disclosures of reportable offenses by client and client’s former employer.
- Advised physician client in business restructuring, including advising and negotiating employment and property contracts.
- Represented physicians facing credentialing challenges, hospital investigations, and administrative proceedings before the Arizona Medical Board.
- Represented college students facing academic integrity investigations at public and private institutions.
REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS
- Negotiated commercial lease termination, reducing lessor’s financial obligation by 90% and saving the client over $880,000.
- Negotiated a favorable commercial lease for a foreign diplomatic mission to the United States.
- Drafted and negotiated a commercial lease with lease-back agreement for medical offices.
IMMIGRATION ADVOCACY & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
During law school, Yusra worked as a legal intern and policy analyst for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), where she researched and analyzed the Indian Communal Violence Bills and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. Her work at USCIRF earned her the Patton Boggs Foundation Public Policy Fellowship.
Throughout her time in private practice, Yusra has continued to provide immigration advocacy for clients, including:
- Served as primary legal contact for over 2,500 international students sponsored by the Saudi Arabian foreign mission; represented foreign nationals in matters ranging from lease disputes to immigration/removal proceedings.
- Represented foreign nationals and businesses in immigration matters, including petitions and applications before the Departments of State and Homeland Security and USCIS, and set up local subsidiaries for international businesses.
- Advised international investors on complying with Office of Foreign Asset Control regulations and trade sanctions.
- Prepare and submit applications to extend/change nonimmigrant status to the USCIS.
- Prepare and submit immigrant and naturalization applications.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Yusra is a straightforward communicator providing clients with both practical and transparent counsel regarding their potential for success and the time frame and associated budgetary considerations to handle the case. Prepared with highly tactical and persuasive fact-based talking points, Yusra is particularly skilled in ADR where she advocates through artful diplomacy and strategic negotiation. A few examples include:
- Secured insurance carrier representation for clients being sued in personal injury and tort claims.
- Successfully resolved a contractual/tort dispute between a classic car collector and restoration company prior to protracted litigation.
- Secured the release of an international student wrongfully detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
- Counseled corporate and governmental entities in crisis management, including a local town’s response to negative publicity resulting from a satire program’s disparagement of its citizens.
Other
Before joining G&K, Yusra practiced at two Valley law firms in the areas of general litigation and immigration law, in addition to her three years at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General. A true team player, Yusra also mentored new attorneys and second-chaired hearings and trials as a courtroom team lead at the AG’s Office.
While in law school, Yusra served as a judicial fellow to the Honorable Steven L. Bernard at the Colorado Court of Appeals and as a judicial intern for the Honorable Lee F. Jantzen at Mohave County Superior Court. Prior to law school, Yusra served as a deputy probation officer for the Mohave County Probation Department.
An Arizona native, Yusra was born and raised in Kingman and spends much of her free time with family in northern Arizona and California or training for her next marathon. She is currently on a Six Star Journey, hoping to complete the six world major marathons. Yusra is an avid learner and continues to hone her language studies in Arabic – in which she has conversational mastery – and in Urdu and Hindi – in which she is fluent.
ASSOCIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS
- Arizona Attorney Magazine Editorial Board, Member, 2015-Present; Chair 2019-Present
- Bar Leadership Institute Selection Committee, Member, 2021-Present
- Bar Leadership Institute Class, Alumna, 2014-2015
News
- G&K's Professional Women’s Group Hosts "Pi Day" Bake Sale & Silent Auction in Support of Shoebox Ministry - March 15, 2024
- Yusra Bokhari Helps Reinstate Physician's Status With American Board of Medical Specialties - March 12, 2024
- Yusra Bokhari to Serve as Vice Chair of the 2023 Selection Panel for the State Bar of Arizona’s Bar Leadership Institute - June 2, 2023
- Yusra Bokhari Completes the 2022 New York Marathon - November 9, 2022
- Yusra Bokhari Completes the 2022 London Marathon - October 5, 2022
- Gallagher & Kennedy Welcomes Two New Attorneys - September 19, 2022
Publications
- Reminder: Registration Opens Tomorrow for the FY25 H1-B Visa Lottery - March 5, 2024
- The Modernization of the H-1B: A Breakdown for Businesses on the Updated Visa Process - February 1, 2024
- Federal Government Expands H-2B Program to Issue up to 130,716 Temporary Worker Visas in FY 2024 - November 6, 2023
- Bokhari, Y., Chowdhury, N. and Lacey, R. "A Good Day to Bury a Bad Charity: Charting the Rise and Fall of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation." In R. Lacey and J. Benthall (Eds.), Gulf Charities and Islamic Philanthropy: In the Age of Terror and Beyond. Berlin: Gerlach Press, 2014. 199-230. Print.
Events
- Panelist, University of Arizona College of Law, South Asian Law Student Association (SALSA), “Transactional Law vs. Litigation,” September 5, 2023
- “Faith Based Alternative Dispute Resolution: Religious Alternatives to Secular Courts,” State Bar of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, November 28, 2018
- “From Boomers to Millennials: Promoting Understanding and Communication Between Generations,” The State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention Chandler, AZ, June 15, 2016
- The Gulf Research Meeting, Cambridge University, July 12, 2012
LANGUAGES
Fluent in Urdu and Hindi