Jumpstart 2026 Faculty Bios

Judge Ann Claire Williams (Ret.)
Jumpstart Founder
Of Counsel, Jones Day

Hon. Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), a trailblazer and leader, heads Jones Day’s efforts to advance the rule of law in Africa. Devoted to promoting the effective delivery of justice worldwide, particularly in Africa, she has partnered with judiciaries, attorneys, NGOs, and the U.S. Departments of Justice and State to lead training programs in Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. She also has taught at the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

President Ronald Reagan nominated her in 1985 to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, making her the first woman of color to serve on a district court in the three-state Seventh Circuit. In 1999, President William Clinton’s nomination made her the first judge of color to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the third Black woman to serve on any federal circuit court. She brings her vast experience on the bench to serve as a resource for the Firm’s leading trial and appellate practices.

She has served on many judicial committees and, as treasurer and president of the Federal Judges Association, was the first person of color to become an officer. Committed to public interest work, she helped found Just The Beginning — A Pipeline Organization, the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Chicago, Minority Legal Education Resources, and the Public Interest Fellowship Program for Equal Justice Works. She serves on the boards of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Weinstein International Foundation, Museum of Science & Industry Chicago, University of Notre Dame (emeritus) and National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) (emeritus), the Board of Counselors for Equal Justice Works, and chairs the Advisory Board of the International Law Institute-South African Centre for Excellence. She was chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary for 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024.

Kendra Abercrombie
Director of Legal Recruiting & Integration, Moore & Van Allen PLLC
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Kendra Abercrombie serves as the Moore & Van Allen PLLC Director of Legal Recruiting & Integration, spearheading the attorney recruiting strategy while overseeing the full lifecycle of legal talent acquisition and integration. She partners with firm leadership to attract, develop, and retain top legal talent while advancing initiatives that strengthen the attorney experience and support the firm’s long term strategic growth.

With more than a decade of experience in legal recruiting, attorney development, and talent management, Kendra has established a track record of building high performing recruiting programs, strengthening law school and lateral hiring pipelines, and implementing innovative strategies that enhance attorney engagement, retention, and organizational effectiveness across Am Law firms, legal organizations, and in higher education.

Prior to joining the firm, Kendra held leadership roles in legal recruiting and professional development, where she managed attorney recruitment, associate development, performance management, and strategic talent initiatives. Her collaborative approach and business minded perspective enable her to align talent strategies with organizational goals while fostering inclusive, high performing legal teams.

Benjamin E. Alba
Professor of Practice, Director of Academic Success, DePaul University College of Law
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Professor Ben Alba is the director of academic success at DePaul University College of Law, where he chairs the Faculty/Staff Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Community-building and as faculty advisor for the Asian Pacific-American Law Student Association (APALSA). He previously taught Remedies and Legal Analysis, Research & Communication and served as Director of Bar Passage and Student Advising. Before joining DePaul in 2002, he was a partner in the Chicago litigation firm of Sneckenberg, Thompson & Brody; areas of practice included insurance, personal injury, civil rights, and administrative review.

Brianna Allen-Thompson
2L, Northern Illinois University College of Law
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Brianna Allen-Thompson is a rising 1L at Northern Illinois University College of Law. She holds an interest in understanding each division of law within the criminal justice system.

Tomi Asogbon
3L, Chicago-Kent College of Law
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Tomi Asogbon is a rising 3L at Chicago-Kent College of Law. This summer, she served as a law clerk at a family law firm, where she gained substantial litigation experience and strengthened her skills in legal advocacy. She currently serves as President of the Black Law Students Association at Chicago-Kent and as an Associate Editor of the Chicago-Kent Intellectual Property Law Journal. With a strong commitment to advocacy and leadership, Tomi plans to continue her career in litigation.

Judge Albert Berry III
Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Albert Berry III has been a Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois since May 2025.

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Berry served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Violent Crimes Section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Illinois. Before joining the USAO, he served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office from 2014 until 2016. Judge Berry worked as a Senior Attorney, Torts, with the Chicago Transit Authority from 2012 to 2014. He also worked in the private practice of law in early 2012 and from 2003 until 2006. From 2006 until 2010, Judge Berry served as an Assistant District Attorney with the New York County District Attorney’s Office.

In 2000, Judge Berry earned his undergraduate degree from South Carolina State University and his law degree from Albany Law School in 2003.

Hannah Brenner Johnson
Dean and Hiram H. Lesar Professor of Law, Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School
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Hannah Brenner Johnson began her tenure as Dean and Hiram H. Lesar Professor of Law at SIU Simmons Law School on July 1, 2025. She brings extensive experience as both an academic and nonprofit leader and is a renowned legal scholar who studies issues of inequality in the legal profession, and disparate power dynamics that exist within institutions and systems.

Dean Brenner Johnson has researched media coverage of Supreme Court nominees and subsequently uncovered a cohort of nine exceedingly qualified women who were shortlisted, but never selected, to the United States Supreme Court before Sandra Day O’Connor became the first. Her co-authored book on this subject, Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court, was first published by New York University Press in May 2020. Dean Brenner Johnson is also the co-author of the legal casebook, Leadership, Law, and Pipelines to Power (West Academic, 2019 & 2023). In addition to her research on the legal profession, Dean Brenner Johnson studies the reporting, investigation, and adjudication of sexual violence that occurs in closed and quasi-closed institutional settings like prisons, the military, immigration detention centers, and institutions of higher education. She has served as a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation grant that explored the reporting of sexual violence by women in prison through analysis of a massive class action lawsuit (Neal v. Michigan Department of Corrections) brought against the state of Michigan by women who were abused in carceral settings. Her work has been cited by the Delaware Supreme Court, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in briefs before the courts including the United States Supreme Court, by numerous scholars in law and other disciplines, as well as in popular media like CNN, Forbes, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, Ms. Magazine, Los Angeles Times, and the Detroit Free Press.

Before her appointment as Dean of Simmons Law School, Dean Brenner Johnson was a faculty member at California Western School of Law, serving as Vice Dean from 2019-2022 and 2023-2025. She previously taught at Michigan State University College of Law, where she served as director of the externship program, and co-director of the Frank J. Kelley Institute of Ethics. At Michigan State, she was also a core faculty member of the Center for Gender in the Global Context and a member of the Research Consortium on Gender-Based Violence. Before entering the legal academy as a professor, she served as the first executive director of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law, the Director of Women’s Leadership Programs at the University of Oklahoma Carl Albert Research & Studies Center, and the first executive director of the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.

A native of Elgin, Illinois, Dean Brenner Johnson earned her B.A. from the University of Iowa in American Studies and her J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law.

Jolynn Caroline
Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives, University of Illinois College of Law
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Jolynn Caroline is the Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives at the University of Illinois College of Law. She brings nearly 20 years of experience in career counseling, inclusion, and professional development for students and alumni. She has presented at national conferences on topics such as student professional development and best practices for supporting neurodivergent law students.

Jolynn earned her J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, where she served as Notes Editor for the University of Illinois Law Review. She graduated with honors with a B.S. in Community Health from the University of Illinois.

Prior to her current role at the College of Law, Jolynn was an associate at Holland & Knight and at Ungaretti & Harris (now Nixon Peabody), where her practice included labor and employment law, product liability, aviation litigation, and construction law.

Kelly Collinsworth
Director of Bar Support and Associate Professor of Practice, Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School
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Kelly Collinsworth joined the faculty of Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School in summer 2022. In addition to teaching 3L bar support courses, she also teaches 1L Legal Writing. Prior to joining the faculty, Professor Collinsworth was Interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of Experiential Education at University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law. She previously taught at Morehead State University in eastern Kentucky where she served as the Legal Studies Coordinator, University Pre-Law Advisor, and Director of Education Abroad. Her practice as a legal aid attorney focused primarily on family law, tenant rights, and consumer defense. She also served as an Assistant County Attorney in Kentucky. Professor Collinsworth earned her B.A. from Georgetown College and her J.D. from the Ohio State University. She is licensed to practice law in Kentucky, South Dakota, and Illinois.

Erin Crist
Assistant Dean of Academic Achievement, Program Assessment, and Bar Preparation, and an Assistant Clinical Professor, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
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Erin Crist is the Assistant Dean of Academic Achievement, Program Assessment, and Bar Preparation, and an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

Prior to joining UIC Law, Erin worked at Chicago-Kent College of Law as the Director of Academic Success and as a Bar Success Writing Advisor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Dean Crist teaches courses designed to develop the skills necessary for success in law school and on the bar exam. She is passionate about supporting students and aims to create programming that addresses various learning styles. As a first generation law student, she is particularly mindful of providing students with the support and resources they need to succeed in law school, on the bar exam, and eventually in their careers.

Dean Crist received her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and earned her B.A. from Colorado College, where she studied political science and elementary education.

Belén Dominguez
Program Coordinator for the Office of Community Engagement and Access, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
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Belén Dominguez is the Program Coordinator for the Office of Community Engagement and Access. In this role, Belén manages the Office’s day-to-day operations, as well as planning, executing, and evaluating the success of programs and initiatives aimed at promoting a supportive, welcoming Law School community. Belén also works closely with student organizations, other Northwestern Pritzker Law departments, and external partners to advance collaboration and foster active engagement. In addition, Belén plays a key role in coordinating and implementing the Office’s pre-law programming designed to expand access to the field of law.

Prior to joining the Law School staff in 2023, Belén worked as a program manager for the Corporate Work Study Program at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School where she matched high school students with corporate partners across the Chicagoland area and mentored students throughout their work study experience. Belén received her B.A. from College of Saint Benedict, double majoring in Hispanic studies and political science (with a concentration in pre-law) and double minored in communication and Latin American studies.

Cristina Figueroa
Program Director, Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization
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Cristina Figueroa has a background in education and law which has supported her role as Program Director for Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization. She graduated from Northern Illinois University College of Law. She worked as a judicial extern at the Cook County Circuit Court and upon graduation, worked for NIU Law’s Health Advocacy Clinic conducting outreach to low income community members in need of legal assistance. Cristina has experience in the classroom as a lead teacher in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood and as an English teacher in South Korea. She thrives when working with diverse students and is committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of their ethnic or socioeconomic background, can continue higher education and pursue legal careers.

Clarissa Gaff
Executive Director, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, Inc.
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Clarissa Gaff is the Executive Director of Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, Inc., which provides free legal services to low income individuals in 65 counties in southern and central Illinois. During her tenure, she has expanded its budget, staff, and launched innovative methods of service delivery, including Mobile Justice vans, a Justice in Schools Project with East St. Louis School District #189, and a social work program. She began her career with Land of Lincoln in 2006 as a staff attorney, handling a variety of areas of law and leading the organization’s foreclosure prevention during the predatory lending crisis. Ms. Gaff also served as a Managing Attorney before becoming Executive Director in 2018. She has taught civil practice at St. Louis University School of Law. She currently serves on the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association (NLADA) Board of Directors, where she chairs its Civil Council. She earned her law degree from Washington University School of Law and a B.A. in English from Goshen College.

Dr. Clarence Glenn
Assistant Dean, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
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Dr. Clarence Glenn brings over 15 years of leadership experience in higher education, where he has guided cross-functional initiatives that drive institutional change and student success. As Assistant Dean at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, he has led strategic efforts to foster an inclusive learning environment, reduce academic attrition, and align departmental goals with university-wide strategic priorities. His work has shaped policies on academic freedom, student engagement, and crisis response, and he has contributed to reaccreditation efforts for both the Higher Learning Commission and the American Bar Association. Dr. Glenn’s expertise is nationally recognized through awards and speaking invitations from organizations such as the National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals.

Dr. Glenn earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from Vanderbilt University, where he researched systemic barriers to change in higher education. He is a frequent conference presenter and serves on numerous university committees dedicated to student support, institutional equity, and academic policy. His collaborative leadership style, commitment to data informed decision making, and passion for creating equitable learning spaces have positioned him as a trusted voice across campus and beyond.

Erika Harold
Executive Director, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
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Erika N. L. Harold is the Executive Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. A dedicated advocate for civility, empathy, and inclusion, Erika leads the Commission’s extensive educational programming focused on advancing professionalism among the state’s lawyers and judges to build trust and confidence in the justice system.

Prior to joining the Commission, Erika was an attorney in Champaign and Chicago.

Erika is a frequent speaker and panelist on topics including professionalism, civility, leadership, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and was a featured panelist at Fortune Magazine’s “Most Powerful Women, Next Gen” conference.

Haley Harris
Law Clerk for the Honorable LaShonda A. Hunt

Haley Harris is a judicial law clerk for the Honorable LaShonda A. Hunt of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She graduated from Duke Law School in 2023, where she was a member of the Moot Court Board, Government and Public Service Society, and Black Law Students Association. Prior to her current role, Haley was an Honors Attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor, Chicago Regional Solicitor’s Office, and before that, she clerked for the Honorable David J. Hale of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Kalamazoo College. Outside of work, she is an avid birder and amateur wildlife photographer.

Kyle Hartfelder
2L, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
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Kyle Hartfelder is a rising 2L at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, where he earned a B.A. in Political Science. He serves as President of the First-Generation Law Students Association, Chair of the Committee on Careers and Clerkships for the Student Bar Association, and Director of Coaching and Tryouts for the Northwestern Law Moot Court Team.

Judge LaShonda A. Hunt
U.S. District Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

LaShonda A. Hunt was appointed a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on May 26, 2023. She previously served for six years as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge. Prior to beginning her judicial service, Judge Hunt had a distinguished career in government service as General Counsel of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, Chief Legal Counsel of the Illinois Department of Corrections, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, law clerk to the Honorable William J. Hibbler, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, and staff attorney for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She also spent several years in private practice.

Judge Hunt is an active member of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. She previously held leadership positions as President, Vice-President, and Board Member at Large. In addition, she served on the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Bar Foundation. From 2020-2023, she was a member of the Federal Judicial Center Bankruptcy Judge Education Advisory Committee, by appointment of the Chief Justice.

Judge Hunt is a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, American Law Institute member, and Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) Alumna.

Judge Hunt earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and her law degree from the University of Michigan.

Judge Beth W. Jantz
Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Beth W. Jantz has been a Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 2020. Judge Jantz handles both civil and criminal matters, and since being appointed, has conducted more than 200 formal settlement conferences.

Judge Jantz was previously an attorney with the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois. Before that, she practiced at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, focusing on class actions and products liability. Judge Jantz has taught and lectured nationally on e-discovery, electronic case management, and mobile and digital technologies. Judge Jantz currently manages discovery for one of the largest MDLs in the country.

Judge Jantz serves on the AO’s Committee on Space and Facilities, the District Court’s IT committee, and the 7th Circuit’s Criminal Law Jury Instructions Committee. Judge Jantz has served in the past on the 7th Circuit’s Advisory Committee on Circuit Rules, Defender Services’ Automation Working Group, and the 7th Circuit’s Pilot Project on E-discovery. Judge Jantz was the President of the Chicago Inn of Court for 2019-2020. Judge Jantz currently serves on the executive Committee of the Richard Linn IP Inn of Court.

At the District Court, Judge Jantz helps to run the “Sentencing Options that Achieve Results” Program (SOAR), which is a pretrial diversion program for criminal defendants who are charged with felonies. The SOAR Program is a collaborative, problem solving court committed to providing an alternative to incarceration through a creative blend of treatment, sanctions, and incentives.

Judge Jantz is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where she played Division I women’s softball, and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. After graduation, she clerked for the 7th Circuit’s Staff Attorneys’ Office. She currently coaches a youth baseball team.

Amanda Johnson
Associate, Jones Day
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Amanda Johnson’s practice focuses on business restructuring and reorganization, including chapter 11 proceedings, complex bankruptcy litigation, and other bankruptcy related matters. She also counsels distressed clients and has experience with out of court restructurings.

She currently represents Aldrich Pump and Murray Boiler, affiliates of Trane Technologies, in their chapter 11 cases before the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina. She is also representing Red River Talc LLC, a Johnson & Johnson affiliate, in its chapter 11 case before the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Amanda is a lecturer in law of the “Resolving Mass Tort Liability” seminar at The University of Chicago Law School.

Amanda is a 2023 LCLD Pathfinder and is also a member of the Associate Board of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms. In addition, Amanda was a member of Teach For America prior to law school, where she worked as a public school teacher in Atlanta, Georgia for two years.

Hannah Jurowicz
Senior Assistant Attorney General and Law Clerk Program Manager, Office of the Illinois Attorney General
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Hannah Jurowicz is a Senior Assistant Attorney General and Law Clerk Program Manager at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. She leads professional development programs for new attorneys and law clerks and provides mentoring on career growth.

Hannah has over a decade of experience managing complex litigation, having served in her office’s Special Litigation Bureau, working on constitutional law, police reform, and reproductive rights issues. Prior to her roles at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Hannah served clients in commercial litigation and intellectual property law.

Hannah is a POSSE Scholar and graduate of the University of Wisconsin (B.A. in Sociology and English) and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (J.D. and LLM in International Human Rights). During law school, Hannah externed for the Hon. Ann Claire Williams on the Seventh Circuit and worked on civil rights litigation, death penalty reform in Malawi, and anti-human trafficking initiatives. Throughout her career, Hannah has championed the importance of mentoring and inclusivity in the legal profession.

Chief Judge Virginia Mary Kendall
Article III Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Chief Judge Kendall was appointed to the federal bench in January 2006. She is the co-author of Child Exploitation and Trafficking: Examining Global Enforcement and Supply Chain Challenges and U.S. Responses (Rowman & Littlefield 2016) and Child Exploitation and Trafficking: Examining the Global Challenges and the U.S. Responses (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 2012), with T. Markus Funk. Chief Judge Kendall teaches human trafficking, supply chain law, and public corruption at University of Chicago Law School, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She was the Peter and Patricia Gruber Fellow in Women’s Rights at Yale Law School in 2018. She has authored numerous articles on a variety of topics including international human rights, human trafficking, public corruption, and transnational investigations.

Aside from her own writing, she also serves as an editor of Litigation Magazine where she regularly contributes articles to the periodical. She is a member of the American Law Institute where she works as an Advisor to the drafting of a model penal code for sexual offenses. She is a member of the UNODC’s Judicial Integrity Network and served on an Expert Committee which drafted an international model social media ethics code for judges. She served six years on the Judicial Conference of the United States’ Codes of Conduct Committee where she drafted the Advisory Opinion for the US judiciary on its use of social media. In 2019, she was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts to serve on the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on International Judicial Relations. She lectures extensively both domestically and internationally (more than 30 countries) in the areas of human trafficking, public corruption, ethics, and judicial training. She has taught in numerous African, European, Southeast Asian, and South American countries. When she trains judges in other countries, Chief Judge Kendall researches the laws and practices of that country and creates a unique program to address the specific needs of that state. Domestically, she created a human trafficking training module for the creation of task forces and judges that has been implemented in numerous jurisdictions throughout the United States.

Aside from her work in human trafficking and international human rights, Chief Judge Kendall serves as a multi-district litigation judge and as a Patent Pilot Program judge in her district. She is a judicial liaison to the Federal Circuit Bar Association and was the 2017 Federal Circuit Bar Association Global Fellow. As a Global Fellow, Chief Judge Kendall lectured on a comparison between German and American patent law in Munich, Germany. She serves regularly on Federal Circuit Bar Association panels and American Bar Association panels focused on patent litigation including a recent panel entitled Empowering Women in the Law Virtual Summit. She participated as a conference panelist for the Master Dialogue on Intellectual Property Adjudication – Judicial Perspectives on IP at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Washington, D.C in September 2019. Chief Judge Kendall serves on the board of the Linn Inn of Court (Intellectual Property and Patent Bar) received the Distinguished Judicial Service Award from the Intellectual Property Association of Chicago.

Aside from her work with the Federal Circuit, Chief Judge Kendall has sat by designation with the Seventh, Ninth, and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal.

Prior to her judicial appointment, she served over ten years as a federal prosecutor in Chicago in both the Public Corruption Unit and as the Child Exploitation Coordinator where she tried dozens of jury trials. While a federal prosecutor, she was appointed to the U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Panel that reviewed all multi-jurisdictional child exploitation and trafficking cases and served as Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator. She has received numerous awards for her work with victims and honorary degrees for her human trafficking work and her pro bono work. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Megan Kreminski
Director of Academic Success, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Megan Kreminski has over 10 years of experience in academic success. Megan served as a board member of the national organization, the Association of Academic Support Educators (AASE), and has chaired multiple AASE committees. She’s presented at an Illinois State Bar Association seminar, AccessLex’s National Conference, LexCon, as well as many other regional conferences. In 2021, she received UIC John Marshall Law School’s Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.

She has been Director of Academic Success at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law since January 2025. This year, her focus has been on revitalizing the Summer Law Preparatory Program for incoming students, expanding support and programming for 1Ls, and cultivating a supportive environment for bar exam takers.

Christina Kuta
Attorney, Roetzel & Andress
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Beginning her legal education with the goal of becoming a practicing health care attorney, Christina is privileged to concentrate her practice in this area of law. She focuses her practice in the areas of regulatory and transactional health care, with experience representing physicians and health care providers and organizations with a broad spectrum of regulatory and transactional matters, including negotiating and documenting transactions, acquisitions, mergers and sales, joint ventures, integrated delivery systems and other combinations and alliances, employment agreements, recruitment and support agreements, bonus and incentive plans, managed care contracts, physician-hospital organizations, management and other commercial and services agreements and leases for space and equipment, as well as shared overhead arrangements. Christina routinely provides advice on complex health care regulations impacting health care providers and entities, including the Stark Law, Anti-Kickback, Illinois Medical Practice Act, False Claims Act, HIPAA, state self-referral and kickback laws.

In addition, Christina advises clients on compliance with Medicare/Medicaid regulations, such as conditions of participation, coverage, billing, payment, reimbursement, reassignment and supervision. In this regard, she has represented a number of clients with respect to both government and private audits and investigations, successfully defeating audit and recoupment actions, as well as negotiating favorable settlements. Client representations also include representing clients at hearings before federal and state agencies related to licensure, DEA registration and revocation of provider enrollment.

Christina is an adjunct professor of law at DePaul University College of Law where she has taught a class on Healthcare Fraud and Abuse. She is also a member of the Roetzel & Andress Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Judge John Z. Lee
Circuit Judge, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

John Z. Lee was appointed Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on September 9, 2022. He is the first Asian Pacific American judge to serve on the Seventh Circuit. Prior to his elevation to the Seventh Circuit, Judge Lee served for ten years as a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.

Before taking the bench, Judge Lee worked in private practice in Chicago, Illinois from 1994-2012, with focus areas including antitrust and trade regulation; intellectual property litigation; and complex dispute litigation. Previously, Judge Lee served in the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., as a Trial Attorney in the Environmental & Natural Resources Division.

Over the years, Judge Lee has served as the President of the Board of Directors of CARPLS (Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services), a legal services organization that provides advice to low income individuals in Cook County, Illinois; President of Asian Human Services of Chicago, the Midwest’s largest social services organization serving immigrant communities in Chicago; on the Board of Directors for the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area (“AABA”); and as an active member of AABA and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Judge Lee was born in Aachen, Germany, and spent his early childhood in South Korea. He immigrated to the United States when he was four years old and grew up in Chicago. Judge Lee attended Harvard University, where he earned a B.A. degree in Classics, and received his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.

Michael Loch
Director of Academic Success and Bar Support, University of Illinois College of Law
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Professor Michael Loch is the Director of Academic Success and Bar Support at the University of Illinois College of Law. In this role, he helps students build skills for law school success and prepares them for the bar exam following graduation. He has previously served as Director of the Academic Excellence Program at the University of Oregon School of Law and has held academic support roles at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California, and the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Before working in higher education, Professor Loch litigated trust and estates and worker’s compensation cases in southern California. Prior to law school, he was an English teacher in the Chicago area. He and his wife have six children, two dogs, and two ferrets.

Crystal Lopez
2L, DePaul University College of Law
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Crystal Lopez is a first generation Mexican and the first in her family to attend law school. Crystal is a rising 2L at DePaul University College of Law. This summer she is interning at Ascend Justice supporting survivors of human trafficking through their immigration process. Crystal will practice Immigration Law after graduation.

Tania Luma
Assistant Dean, Inclusion, Diversity & Equity, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
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Tania Luma is the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Dean Luma works to promote a culture that values and supports diversity through work in five main areas: institutional strategic planning, programming, community building and sense of belonging, student support, and leadership development. As a University of Illinois Chicago School of Law student, she chaired the SBA’s Diversity Affairs Committee, a position through which she lobbied for the college to establish an Office of Diversity; the office was created in 2009. After earning her J.D. from UIC Law in 2009, she practiced civil litigation in the Cook County Child Protection Division, representing children affected by abuse and neglect. At DePaul University College of Law, she taught Critical Thinking, Criminal Justice, and Homeland Security, and helped DePaul create assessments of student critical thinking abilities and collaborated with colleagues to assess incoming students from 2012 to 2016. She also studied public leadership at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and used this training to coach and advise individuals and institutions on leadership and organizational development.

Carmen Matos Michael
Associate Director of Career Development and Professionalism
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Carmen Matos Michael (she/her) is an Associate Director of Career Development and Professionalism at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Carmen is a former patent attorney of intellectual property boutique, Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione, now Crowell & Moring. Carmen’s practice included patent litigation in various federal district courts, interference proceedings before the U.S. Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, opinion work, and patent prosecution.

Carmen earned her J.D. at the University of Illinois College of Law and during law school she counseled first-generation undergraduate students at the University of Illinois’ Office of Minority Student Affairs.

Prior to law school, Carmen worked at Monsanto Chemical Company as a Process Control Engineer, a Color Specialist and a Quality Control Engineer. As an undergraduate, she worked at American Cyanamid Company as a Project Engineer through the University of Michigan’s Co-Operative Engineering Program. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a B.S. Chemical Engineering.

Bradford McGann
Law Clerk for the Honorable Sharon Johnson Coleman
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Bradford McGann is a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Sharon Johnson Coleman, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He graduated from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 2023, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Northwestern University Law Review — the first Black person to hold the position in the journal’s history — and was awarded the Student Graduation Leadership Award and the Student Bar Association 3L Leadership Award for his contributions as a leader in the student community. Prior to his current role, Bradford worked as an associate at the Washington, DC office of Covington and Burling LLP in the firm’s Environmental and Energy Practice Group. He holds a B.A. in Government from Harvard University. When he is not in the courthouse, Bradford enjoys playing bass guitar, watching NBA basketball, and going swing dancing with his wife.

Christian Meyer
2L, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
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Christian Meyer is a rising 2L at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He is a member of the Black Law Student Association, Business Law Society, and is one of the outgoing 1L representatives in the Student Bar Association. This summer, Christian has been working in-house at Mondelez international (parent company of Oreo, Ritz, Sour Patch Kids, Chips Ahoy, etc.). He plans on joining Moot Court this upcoming year, as well as being a tutor, to ultimately become an Intellectual Property lawyer.

Mary Nagel
Associate Professor of Legal Writing, Chicago-Kent College of Law
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Mary Nagel is an Assistant Professor of Legal Writing at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. She also teaches Civil Procedure, Illinois Civil Procedure, and Federal Courts. She has lectured throughout the United States on such topics as legal writing in doctrinal classes, academic achievement in lawyering skills, initial introductions to working with the bar, alternative methods of lawyering skills teaching, and moot court teams/competitions. Additionally, she has had the pleasure of teaching American legal research and writing in Beijing, China and Brno, Czech Republic. Prior to full time teaching, Professor Nagel was an attorney in the private sector and the public sector, serving as the Chief Legal Counsel for the Illinois Department of Labor and, before that position, as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois.

Darius O. Johnson
2L, University of Illinois College of Law
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Darius O. Johnson is a rising 2L at the University of Illinois College of Law. He is a member of the Elder Law Journal and the Anderson Center Trial Team. This summer, he served as a law clerk to the Chief Risk Officer at the Rush University System for Health. He is a Chicago native, avid Bears fan and alto saxophonist. Upon graduating law school, he aims to become an Assistant United States Attorney and eventually a federal judge.

Casey Parker
Director of Career Services, Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School
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Casey Parker was a first gen student who graduated from Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School in 2003. She practiced criminal and municipal law, before teaching criminal justice classes and working in compliance at SIU’s main campus. In 2022, Casey returned to the law school as the Director of Career Services.

Lieutenant Lindsay Pitts
Region Legal Service Office Midwest, Department of the Navy

Lieutenant Pitts is currently serving as Installation SJA for Naval Station Great Lakes and Naval Weapons Station Crane. Prior to her role as ISJA, she completed her ITJA tour at RLSO Midwest including rotations as Trial Counsel and as Legal Assistance Attorney. She earned her J.D. (Cum Laude) from Syracuse University in December 2023 and is licensed to practice law in the state of Colorado.

She commissioned through the Student Program in 2024. A native of Illinois, Lt. Pitts enlisted in the United States Navy in 2012 as an Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuels). She attended “A” school in Pensacola, Florida and was stationed on the USS CARL VINSON, USS RONALD REAGAN, and at Naval Base San Diego.

In 2016, Lt. Pitts cross-rated to Yeoman and was stationed at SEAL Team SEVENTEEN, NSWG-11, and NRC Newport, RI. Prior to transferring to the Reserves in Denver, CO, she began law school while serving as the Admin LPO and CCC.

Lt. Pitts’ personal decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (sixth award) and the Good Conduct Medal (third award).

Jennifer (Jenny) Plagman
Partner, Jones Day
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Jenny Plagman is an experienced trial lawyer who represents and advises employers in a diverse range of labor and employment matters. Her practice focuses on individual and complex disputes arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and the Biometric Information Privacy Act.

In addition to representing employers in litigation, Jenny routinely handles high stakes investigations involving alleged violations of federal and state employment laws and company policies. Clients trust Jenny with their most sensitive and complex internal matters. A portion of Jenny’s practice also focuses on advising corporate clients on a variety of employment matters, including compensation practices, worker classification, state law compliance, employment agreements, workplace sensitivity, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, and pay equity.

Recently, Jenny successfully defended a Fortune 1000 company in a six-day jury trial in the Eastern District of Texas. She also co-led four-day (California) and three-day (Hawaii) wage and hour bellwether arbitrations, winning each on all counts, which subsequently resolved over 300 pending arbitrations.

Jenny is a member of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association and the National Employment Law Council and serves on the boards of the Center for Conflict Resolution and the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts.

Within Jones Day, Jenny co-leads the Black Lawyers Affinity Group, serves on the Firmwide Inclusion and Advancement Committee, and is the Firm’s 2025 Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow.

Emilia Porubcin
Law Clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings
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Emilia Porubcin is a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to her current role, she worked as a litigation associate at the San Francisco office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Emilia graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 2024, where she served as Executive Membership, Diversity, and Scholarship Editor for the University of Chicago Law Review. She holds a B.A. in History from Stanford University.

Nathan Rice
Executive Director, State of Illinois Executive Ethics Commission (EEC)
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Nathan Rice serves as the Executive Director of the State of Illinois Executive Ethics Commission (EEC). Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, Nate served as Deputy General Counsel and Ethics Officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health and previously held several leadership roles with the EEC, including Senior Legal Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer. Before entering state government service, Nate worked in local government as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Springfield, Illinois. An Illinois native, Nate earned his J.D. from Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School, a Master of Arts with Distinction from DePaul University, and a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

José Luis Rodríguez
Senior Associate Director of Student Affairs & Diversity + Inclusion, University of Chicago Law School
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José Luis Rodríguez has been part of the University of Chicago community since 2018. Currently, he serves as the Senior Associate Director of Student Affairs & Diversity + Inclusion. There he creates a safe and welcoming environment for all through various programming and working groups. Prior to the Law School, he served as the Assistant Director of the Center for College Student Success in the College. There, he supported various undergraduate students, but focused on those that identified as first generation, lower income, and/or immigrant students. José Luis initiated his career in mental health before transitioning to higher education, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in educational leadership.

Marsha Ross-Jackson
Associate Dean, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Chicago-Kent College of Law
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Marsha Ross-Jackson, Associate Dean of the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, is an experienced leader, attorney, educator and consultant. With over 25 years of professional experience in a variety of roles, industries and sectors, Marsha’s breadth of knowledge and experience enable her to add value to any organization. Marsha’s expertise in managing operations, finance, communications, employee and labor relations, investigations, compliance, human resources, and law in diverse, large multi-state offices, has helped her to become well-versed in cross-cultural communication and leadership, as well as extremely effective in directing across interdisciplinary settings. Marsha has served as an HR/legal business partner and advisor to senior leaders, boards of directors and operational leaders. She has also represented multi-billion dollar clients in insurance, employment and commercial litigation matters. Marsha is an Arbitrator; a former member of the American Arbitration Association’s Roster of Neutrals – Employment Law Panel and the Joint Arbitration-Mediation Panel for the Chicago-Public Schools and The Chicago Teachers Union.

Julia Roundtree Livingston
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
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Julia Roundtree Livingston is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Manager at the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism where she leads the Commission’s education and advocacy initiatives aimed at promoting DEI in Illinois’ legal and justice systems. She joined the Commission in 2023.

Prior to joining the Commission, Julia was Executive Director of Macon County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which provides court-appointed volunteers to advocate for abused, neglected, and/or dependent children who are involved in the Macon County juvenile court system. She was appointed to this role in 2018 after serving as CASA’s Director of Development.

At CASA, Julia led a sustainable nonprofit organization with multiple streams of funding while educating the community on the need for CASA’s services. This included working with local lawyers and judges to organize trainings for CASA volunteers, regularly communicating with legal and judicial professionals about CASA’s capabilities, and presentations to the Decatur Bar Association on CASA’s work.

Julia is also a member of the Diversity & Education Leadership Team at the Maroa-Forsyth School District and founder of Discourse on Racial Difference: A Macon County Book Club, which has 600 members statewide.

Joe Scally
Clinical Director, Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program
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Joe Scally is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a B.A. from the Program of Liberal Studies. He holds a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law and an M.A. in clinical psychology from DePaul University. He completed an internship in clinical psychology at the Institute for Juvenile Research, Department of Psychiatry, UIC. Joe also did postgraduate study at the Family Systems Program, Institute for Juvenile Research, UIC. As a lawyer, Joe has practiced in Illinois for many years, most recently for the past eight years at The Child and Family Law Center.

As a clinician, Joe has been on staff at the DePaul Community Mental Health Center, the Parenting Assessment Team at UIC, the ASSETS clinic at University of Chicago Hospital, and St. Raymond’s Psychological Services. Joe served as clinical co-director of the Clinical Evaluation and Services Initiative (CESI), a joint project of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and the U. of Chicago Hospital. CESI was based in the Juvenile Court of Cook County at the invitation of the Chief Judge with funding by the MacArthur Foundation. The multi-year project examined how mental health information was obtained and utilized in the court and made suggestions for reform. Joe has taught graduate courses in Mental Health Law, Ethics, and Assessment at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Karen Alicia Shaw
Assistant Dean for Accreditation and Strategic Initiatives, Adjunct Professor of Legal Writing, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
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Dr. Karen Alicia Shaw oversees and facilitates a broad range of projects regarding Loyola University Chicago School of Law’s academic and administrative goals, initiatives, and policies, as well as aspects of the school’s graduate law programs. She also manages all law school accreditation matters regarding the American Bar Association and other external bodies. In addition, Dr. Shaw teaches in the following areas: health law, health literacy and law, legal writing (health law focused), international development law and policy research and socio-legal studies. More so, she currently serves as a subject matter expert for health literacy standard-setting in organizational systems and policies with the Health Literacy Solutions Center at the Institute for Health Care Advancement.

Dr. Shaw has over 20 years of experience in educational leadership, teaching, and academic program administration. Prior to Loyola, she briefly worked in various health law and other legal practice settings before transitioning her career to academia teaching courses in health insurance policy, medical law and ethics, and English at the vocational training and business college levels where she had the privilege of instructing and mentoring many first-generation and nontraditional students.  During this time, she also served as a program dean at a career college where she developed health care curricula and implemented the college’s academic assessment initiatives.

Dr. Shaw holds a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degree in Health Law and Policy from Loyola, where her dissertation employed a systemic content analysis of Medicaid class actions through the lens of cooperative federalism and institutional reform litigation to devise a framework for defining “reasonably prompt” health care services for children. She also holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Health Law from Loyola; a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of Pittsburgh, where she served as an associate editor for the Journal of Law and Commerce; and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Communication Studies with minors in Professional Writing and Business Administration from DePaul University.

Janna Shell
Law Clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings

Janna Shell is a career law clerk for the Honorable Jeffrey I. Cummings, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She previously clerked for Retired Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason in the Northern District of Illinois and as a clerk to Judge Mary Anne Mason in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division. Janna graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2008, where she served as a legal writing tutor, a judicial extern, and a senior editor of the Consumer Law Review. Janna holds a B.S. in Psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Audrey Stallings
2L, Southern Illinois University Simmons School of Law
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Audrey Stallings is a 2L at the Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School where she is in the honor society, on the moot court team, a torts TA, and is a member of the law journal. She completed her undergraduate education at Murray State University where she earned a B.S. in Political Science. In her free time, Audrey is completing independent research on trauma informed care, crafts, and enjoys gaming with friends.

Jay Streitz
Legal Writing Instructor, Northern Illinois University College of Law
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Jay Streitz teaches legal writing and advocacy and also assists with the Academic Success Program. He began his legal career as a litigation associate, first at Faegre & Benson LLP (now Faegre Baker Daniels), and later at Siegel Brill PA in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before joining the College of Law, Streitz was an acquisitions editor at West Academic Publishing, where he worked with law professors, soliciting and developing proposals for law school casebooks, textbooks, and study aids. He also taught appellate advocacy as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, and legal writing and analysis as a full-time visiting instructor at Hamline University School of Law.

He graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Iowa College of Law, where he was elected 1L class representative to the Iowa Student Bar Association. He earned an MA in philosophy from the University of Iowa, and received his B.A. with honors in political science from the University of Minnesota.

Sarah J. Taylor
Barrett, Twomey, Broom, Hughes & Hoke, LLP
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Sarah J. Taylor has been an attorney with the Carbondale firm of Barrett, Twomey, Broom, Hughes & Hoke, LLP since 2004. Her current areas of practice include minor and adult guardianships, guardian ad litem work, adoptions, mediation, probate, and property tax appeals. She is an adjunct professor at Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School. She has previously been the statewide Pro Bono Program Manager for the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) and a Research Attorney for the Illinois Supreme Court. She received her B.A. in Cinema and Photography from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1997 and her J.D. from Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School in 2002.

Ms. Taylor is an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association. She helped drive the creation of the ISBA’s Rural Practice Initiative and is currently the Vice Chair of its Rural Practice Section Council. She also is a member of the ISBA Standing Committee on Law-Related Education for the Public and a past Assembly member. She is President of the Board of Directors of Dispute Resolution Institute, Inc. (DRI), which administers the First Judicial Circuit’s family mediation program and other programs statewide. She is a member and past president of the Jackson County Bar Association, and a volunteer for and past member of the Board of Directors for Land of Lincoln Legal Aid. She is also a member of the Illinois Judicial Conference Legal Deserts Task Force, and a court-approved mediator and GAL in the First, Second, and Twenty-Fourth Judicial Circuits of Illinois.

Dr. Ana Vázquez-Rivera, Ph.D.
Director of Diversity, Inclusion & Student Life, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
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Dr. Ana Vázquez-Rivera has over 20 years of professional experience in the field of education, specializing in diversity initiatives, student affairs, and teaching. In her current role, she is responsible for diversity, wellness and student leadership programming.

Dr. Vazquez-Rivera holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as a Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago. Her dissertation documented the college experiences of Latinx students at predominantly White higher education institutions.

Dr. Vazquez-Rivera has committed much of her research and education advocacy to fostering positive educational experiences for students, particularly diverse students and helping them achieve their educational goals.

Stephanie Villinski
Deputy Director, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
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Stephanie Villinski is the Deputy Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism where she oversees Commission operations and develops educational programs for legal professionals across Illinois.

With a particular interest in health and wellness, Stephanie seeks to promote a healthier, more rewarding professional life for lawyers and judges and, by extension, better service to the public. This includes writing and speaking about issues of professionalism, civility, and well-being, including spearheading a statewide training on vicarious trauma for judges.

In addition, Stephanie oversees the Commission’s advancement of high-quality legal education, diversity and inclusion efforts, implementation of effective communications, professionalism programming for law schools, and day-to-day operational activities.

Brandi Welch
Dean of Students, University of Chicago Law School
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Brandi L. Welch graduated with Honors from the University of Texas School of Law and also earned a Master of Education in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from the UT College of Education. She holds a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the UChicago Law, she worked at the University of Texas School of Law where she was the Director of Student Affairs and at Wayne State University in Detroit, where she was the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. She is an active member of the National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals and was a member of the NALSAP Board of Directors, as well as serving at the National Conference Co-Chair in 2021. Prior to her career in higher education, Dean Welch was an attorney in Vinson & Elkins’ New York office and at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Austin. She also served as a volunteer attorney for Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas and American Gateways.

Samantha Woo
Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Access, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
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Samantha Kwok-Ting Woo is the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Access. In this role, Samantha advises individual students and student organizations, develops programs aimed at promoting a supportive, welcoming Law School community, implements pre-law initiatives to expand pathways to the legal profession for individuals who may have more limited access to information and resources relating to law school and the legal profession, and collaborates with other Northwestern Pritzker Law departments and external partners in connection with strategic initiatives related to community engagement.

Samantha joined the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law staff in January 2023. Prior to that time, Samantha worked over a decade as an associate, then partner, at Jones Day in the Firm’s labor and employment practice group. She is a 2012 graduate of Northwestern Pritzker Law, where she was a member of the Northwestern Law Review, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, and Diversity Coalition. Samantha is active in the legal community, including in the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago and National Employment Law Council. Since 2018, she also has served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Northwestern Pritzker Law Bluhm Legal Clinic. Samantha received Northwestern Pritzker Law’s Volunteer Service Award in 2024, which recognizes alumni for their exceptional volunteer service and ongoing commitment to the Law School.

Dawn Young
Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Legal Writing, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
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Dawn K. Young is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she teaches Legal Writing I and II.

Prior to joining the Loyola faculty in 2024, Professor Young taught Academic Skills Lab I and II at the University of Idaho College of Law and co-directed the Academic Success Program at the Boise campus. She also supervised student fellows and provided individualized academic advising.

From 2010 to 2022, Professor Young held several roles at Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. As Director of Academic Skills, she oversaw the Academic Skills Program, supervised teaching assistants, and served as the law school’s writing specialist. From 2018 to 2022, she taught an upper level legal writing course focused on transactional practice as an adjunct professor. In her earlier role as Director of Institutional Projects, she led cross-departmental initiatives, managed grant-funded programs, and played a key role in strategic planning and accreditation efforts.

Before entering academia, Professor Young practiced law in both private practice and as in-house counsel for a real estate development and marketing company in Chicago.