Alumni Attorney Talks is a virtual series which aims to provide prospective law students with helpful insights about attending law school and pursuing a legal career. This series features interviews with University of Illinois alumni working in a variety of diverse settings within the legal profession.
Alumni Attorney Talks is a virtual series which aims to provide prospective law students with helpful insights about attending law school and pursuing a legal career. This series features interviews with University of Illinois alumni working in a variety of diverse settings within the legal profession.
Bianca B. Brown
Chicago transit authority- Chief Attorney, Torts Litigation
QUICK FACTS ABOUT Bianca Brown:
Law School: Thomas M. Cooley Law School
UIUC Undergraduate Major: Political Science and Government
Bianca’s Three Words to Describe an Attorney:
Advocate|Insightful |Innovative
CHECK OUT Part 1 and 2 of THIS INSIGHTFUL INTERVIEW BELOW!
Part 1
Part I features a discussion on Ms. Brown’s educational and career background.
Looking for an internship? Read and listen below in Part 2 for more information on the CTA and their internship program!
Part 2
Part II features Ms. Brown’s role in the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), internship information at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), and more!
The Chicago Transit Authority has a variety of paid internships available for college and graduate students! This is a great opportunity to gain invaluable experience from the nation’s second largest public transportation system. Internships are available during the summer and school year. There are internship opportunities for students majoring in a variety of majors from engineering to media communications to law to human resources and many more!
Click here for more information about Chicago Transit Authority Internships!
Alumni Attorney Talks is a virtual series which aims to provide prospective law students with helpful insights about attending law school and pursuing a legal career. This series features interviews with University of Illinois alumni working in a variety of diverse settings within the legal profession.
Captain David Sanders
Administrative Clerk to Illinois Supreme Court Justice David Overstreet
Learn more about military legal careers by clicking here.
Captain Sanders is also a JAG Officer in the Illinois Army National Guard where he serves as the Senior Trial Counsel (prosecutor) for the 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Normal, Illinois.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT David Sanders
Law School: Southern Illinois University Law School
UIUC Undergraduate Major: Political Science with History Minor
Alumni Attorney Talks is a virtual series which aims to provide prospective law students with helpful insights about attending law school and pursuing a legal career. This series features interviews with University of Illinois alumni working in a variety of diverse settings within the legal profession.
Sharone R. Mitchell, Jr.
Illinois Cook County Public Defender
Quick facts about Sharone R. Mitchell, Jr.:
Law School: DePaul University College of Law
UIUC Undergraduate Major: Political Science
Mr. Mitchell’s Three Words to Describe an Attorney:
Empathetic|Critical|Diligent
Check out this insightful interview below!
To learn more about Mr. Mitchell and the Cook County Public Defender’s Office click here.
Alumni Attorney Talks is a virtual series which aims to provide prospective law students with helpful insights about attending law school and pursuing a legal career. This series features interviews with University of Illinois alumni working in a variety of diverse settings within the legal profession.
Featuring:Judge Katherine Kern
Judge Kern is a Federal Administrative Judge with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. The Merit Systems Protection Board examines important issues related to the federal workforce. The Board is an independent, quasi-judicial agency in the Executive branch that serves as the guardian of Federal merit systems. The mission of the MSPB is to “Protect the Merit System Principles and promote an effective Federal workforce free of Prohibited Personnel Practices.”
Alumni Attorney Talks is a virtual series which aims to provide prospective law students helpful insights about attending law school and pursuing a legal career. This series features interviews with University of Illinois alumni working in a variety of diverse settings within the legal profession.
FEATURING: Justice Rita B. Garman
Justice Rita B. Garman, Supreme Court of Illinois
Justice Garman is a member of the Illinois Supreme Court representing the Fourth District. Learn more about Justice Garman and the Supreme Court of Illinois online!
Law School: University of Iowa College of Law
UIUC Undergraduate Major: Economics
Justice Garman’s Three Words to Describe the Legal Profession:
Alumni Attorney Talks is a virtual series which aims to provide prospective law students helpful insights about attending law school and pursuing a legal career. This series will feature interviews with University of Illinois alumni working in a variety of diverse settings within the legal profession.
Featuring: Lynn P. Cohn
Clinical Professor and CO-Director of the Center on Negotiation and Mediation at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Law School: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
UIUC Undergraduate Major: Political Science and Spanish
Professor Cohn’s Three Words to Describe an Attorney:
Alumni Attorney Talks is a virtual series which aims to provide prospective law students helpful insights about attending law school and pursuing a legal career. This series will feature interviews with University of Illinois alumni working in a variety of diverse settings within the legal profession.
Franco Benyamin, Associate at Fish & Richardson P.C.
Law School: Washington University School of Law
UIUC Undergraduate Major/Minor: Molecular and Cellular Biology with a minor in Spanish and Leadership Studies
Alumni Attorney Talks is a virtual series which aims to provide prospective law students helpful insights about attending law school and pursuing a legal career. This series will feature interviews with University of Illinois alumni working in a variety of diverse settings within the legal profession.
Jason Emmanuel, Assistant State’s Attorney – Criminal Division Chief at the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office
Law School: University of Iowa College of Law
UIUC Undergraduate Major/Minor: Political Science, minor in English
Gap Year Experience: 2 years working in retail management
As most of you know, there are big changes coming for the PLAS Office. Alex Gil, our Graduate Assistant, who is a 3L at the UIUC College of Law, will be graduating in May. Jamie Thomas-Ward, our long-time Director of Pre-Law Advising Services, took a new position in the LAS Department of Economics in January. Judy Argentieri, Pre-Law Advisor, is retiring on April 30. There is a search underway for a new Director of Pre-Law Services, but that person will not be “here” on May 1, when we are all gone. So what are you going to do?
Appointments – Alex will be accepting appointments through this Thursday, April 23, then will be focusing on his law school final exams. Judy will be taking student appointments through next Wednesday, April 29. Please go to our online scheduling portal to make appointments.
New Team – As mentioned above, the search for a new Director of Pre-Law Services is ongoing. The hope/plan is to have that person on board soon, possibly by June 1. In any event, there will be a new director in place before classes resume in the fall.
In the meantime, when you have pre-law questions….
SEARCH THE PLAS BLOG!! Do not forget to search this blog for any topic related to pre-law. For example, as you all begin Fall 2020 course registration, you can use our March 30 blog post “Suggestions for Fall 2020 Courses” to assist you. Even some of our older posts, covering a wide variety of topics, can be helpful!
USE THE PRE-LAW HANDBOOK!! As we have mentioned many, many times, the PLAS Handbook, accessible on our webpage, has answers to a lot of your questions with embedded links to help with your research on a host of issues. Spend some time reading through it.
USE THE PLAS COMPASS PAGE!! Our Compass page contains a lot of good information, such as: info on UIUC law school applicants; Pre-Law 101 and Personal Statement short videos; the Jobs/Internship Newsletter; and more! Not sure how to access it? Go to the Resources tab on our PLAS webpage, and then scroll all the way to the bottom for instructions on how to add the PLAS Compass page.
KEEP CHECKING THE PLAS FACEBOOK PAGE!! As updates are available concerning the new PLAS team, this will be the best place for up-to-the-minute information. Haven’t joined our Facebook page yet? Ask to join Pre-Law Advising Services at Illinois ASAP!
DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!! Now is not the time to be passive. You must be proactive to stay on top of the constant changes happening here and elsewhere. Put reminders in your mobile phones tocheck each of the above resources for important updates and changes!! Here are a few other areas of interest that most pre-law students want/need to learn more about:
Financing Law School: AccessLex (https://www.accesslex.org/) Law School Transparency (https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/ Our PLAS resources, including our Handbook, list these and other good sources for information on how to manage the cost of a law school education.
Employment Information: ABA’s website http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/MainHome.aspx. You can also check each individual law school website – this data MUST be published on their websites by ALL ABA-accredited law schools. Articles featured in the Law.com and NationalJurist.com publications, as well as data compiled by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) are also helpful. https://www.nalp.org/
LSAT and GPA Medians ABA 509 Report data – ABA’s website here http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/MainHome.aspx. You can also check each individual law school website – this data MUST be published on their websites by ALL ABA-accredited law schools.
Refer back to this post or the PLAS Handbook as questions arise during this transition period. And stay tuned for announcements and updates related to the new Director of Pre-Law Advising Services!
nce from the nation’s second largest public transportation system. Internships are available during the summer and school year. There are internship opportunities for students majoring in a variety of majors from engineering to media communications to law to human resources and many more!
Judge Kern is a Federal Administrative Judge with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. The Merit Systems Protection Board examines important issues related to the federal workforce. The Board is an independent, quasi-judicial agency in the Executive branch that serves as the guardian of Federal merit systems. The mission of the MSPB is to “Protect the Merit System Principles and promote an effective Federal workforce free of Prohibited Personnel Practices.” 
Clinical Professor and CO-Director of the Center on Negotiation and Mediation at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Jason Emmanuel, Assistant State’s Attorney – Criminal Division Chief at the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office