Fighting Forced Labor on U.S. Soil: Litigation on Behalf of Chinese Workers

Aaron Halegua JD ’09
Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs, Wang v. Gold Mantis Construction and Liu v. Wellmade Industries

Aaron Halegua leads a boutique litigation firm in New York City focused on labor and employment litigation, with particular experience representing human trafficking and forced labor victims. In 2021, he won $6.9 million for seven Chinese construction workers trafficked to build a casino on the island of Saipan. As a result, Aaron was named the Human Trafficking Legal Center’s “Litigator of the Year” in 2021 and received the “Grantee Hero Award” from the Impact Fund in 2023. Since then, Aaron has represented dozens of Chinese, Filipino, and other immigrant workers in forced labor cases around the country, including in New Mexico, New York, Georgia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since 2024, Aaron has been a Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Immigration and Human Trafficking. Aaron began his legal career as a Skadden Fellow and clerked at the Southern District of New York. He speaks, reads, and writes Mandarin Chinese.

A light lunch will be provided.

*Location note: In past years, EALS talks were generally in Morgan Courtroom (Austin 308), but due to the construction project currently underway next to Austin Hall, we will hold most EALS talks in Wasserstein Hall during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Please register here.