Sameer Barkawi joined the Trial Unit of the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at the end of March 2026. Prior to taking the position, he spent over 10 years with the Chester County Public Defender’s Office as a trial attorney, where he represented indigent clients charged with crimes ranging from DUI and other traffic offenses, all the way up to first degree murder. He earned dual B.A.s in English and Film & Video at Pennsylvania State University in 2010 and his J.D. from Widener University Delaware Law School in 2015.