Arif Panju

Managing Attorney of the Texas Office

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Arif Panju serves as a managing attorney with the Institute for Justice. He leads IJ’s Texas office while also litigating cutting-edge constitutional cases protecting property rights, economic liberty, free speech, and educational choice.

Arif’s work has resulted in court victories nationwide for tour guides challenging restrictions on their speech, hair braiders fighting for economic liberty, food truck entrepreneurs facing anticompetitive restrictions, parents relying on choice programs to direct their child’s education, and many others. In the U.S. Supreme Court, Arif second-chaired Carson v. Makin in which the Court held that states violate the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution when they exclude religious educational options from school choice programs. In the Texas Supreme Court, Arif helped secure a landmark victory in Patel v. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which held that the Texas Constitution requires meaningful judicial scrutiny of economic restrictions on liberty and property. His current cases focus on vindicating property rights against civil forfeiture and zoning abuses, protecting economic liberty, and defending educational choice.

Arif’s work at IJ has been featured by dozens of outlets including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Houston Chronicle, and Texas Monthly. His views on legal issues have been published in outlets ranging from USA Today to the Dallas Morning News.

Arif graduated law school with honors from Southern Methodist University. He lives in Austin with his family.

Arif's Cases

Economic Liberty

Texas Entrepreneur Fights a City’s Unconstitutional Dumpster Monopoly

Josh Roman built his small business from nothing. He started with a single trailer-hitched dumpster and an ad on Craigslist back in 2020. Today, American AF Dumpster Rentals, based in Waxahachie, Texas, has four…

Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships

Utah Families Defend Program That Expands Educational Opportunity

Utah families intervene to defend the Utah Fits All scholarship program, so that families have more choice with their children's' educational opportunities.

Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project

Mechanic Challenges City of Pasadena's Mandatory Parking Minimum

Azael Sepulveda recently purchased a new mechanic shop, but the city of Pasadena will not let him open until he provides 28 parking spaces, which he does not need. Azael has partnered with IJ to…

4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property

Class Action Lawsuit Seeks to Dismantle Houston’s Illegal and Unconstitutional Forfeiture Machine

Harris County, Texas, has an unconstitutional financial incentive for law enforcement to seize property and cash excessively without probable cause, often sweeping up innocent people in the process. Ameal Woods and Jordan Davis are two…

Economic Liberty | Eminent Domain | Private Property

Family-Owned Hardware Store Sues Long Island Town Trying to Take Away their Property

The Brinkmann family owns hardware stores in Long Island and purchased property with the hope of opening a new store. The town now wants to take the land through eminent domain, simply because they don’t…

Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships

Tennessee Parents Intervene in Court to Defend Education Savings Account Program

In 2019, Tennessee enacted an Education Savings Account that helped thousands of low-and-middle-income students receive a quality education. A year later, the mayor of Nashville announced a lawsuit attacking the program. A group of Tennessee…

Economic Liberty | Vending

Texas Food Trucks Sue for Right to Compete on South Padre Island

South Padre Island caps the number of food trucks in town at 12 and requires that all food trucks have a restaurant owner’s sign off on their permit applications. The Texas Constitution prevents the government…

Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships

Maine Families Fight for School Choice in U.S. Supreme Court Appeal

Video Interview with Attorney and Parent Supreme Court Decision School Choice Myths & Realities…

Economic Liberty | Vending

Derby City Betting Against Food Trucks

City Council members in Louisville worked closely with established brick-and-mortar restaurants to keep out food truck competition. IJ secured a federal court order barring the city from discriminating against food trucks and then successfully worked…

Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides

Charleston Tour Guides Challenge Unconstitutional License to Talk

Economic Liberty | Vending

No One Should Need Their Competitors’ Permission to Operate a Business

Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Private Property

Beer Bounty: Texas Craft Brewers Sue Over New Law That Requires Them to Give Part of Their Businesses to Distributors for Free

A Texas law is forcing craft brewers to give up millions of dollars of valuable property to politically connected beer distributors.

Educational Choice | Tax Credit Scholarships

Alabama Parents Join Legal Battle To Protect School Choice

Alabama has created a unique, refundable tax credit program that offers a lifeline to families to help them escape failing public schools if they lack the financial resources to do so.

Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing

Should African hair braiders have to build an entire barber college and become barbering instructors just to teach hair braiding? Texas officials think so.

Texas tried to force natural hair braiding schools to convert into fully-equipped barber colleges—solely to teach hair braiding—even though braiders aren’t barbers.