Aparna Polavarapu has dedicated her career to restorative justice, legal pluralism, and human rights, drawing on extensive experience both domestically and internationally. She has particular expertise in informal, community-based justice systems and their interaction with formal, state-centered legal frameworks. Her research encompasses a range of issues, including expanding constitutional access to justice, the use of restorative justice in addressing domestic violence in Uganda, and the interaction between customary and statutory law in governing land rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, her primary focus is on promoting restorative justice as a sustainable, community-driven approach to addressing harm. As Executive Director of the South Carolina Restorative Justice Initiative, she led efforts to develop educational programs and supports organizations in implementing restorative practices.

In addition to her academic work, Professor Polavarapu advises practitioners on international rule of law and human rights, including topics such as African customary law and legal pluralism. She has contributed to expert reports for institutions like the UN Foundation and the Center for Reproductive Rights and regularly speaks to audiences at the local, national, and international levels on restorative justice and its application to serious harms, including interpersonal violence. She has served as a commissioner on the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission and as Liberty Fellow with the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Prior to joining academia, she was a Teaching Fellow at Georgetown's International Women’s Human Rights Clinic and practiced law at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP in Boston.