6 minute read
Student News
Adrian Delgado ’21 and Dominica Puglise ’20 Receive 2020 Fleischman Family Awards
Adrian Delgado ’21 and Dominica Puglise ’20 are the recipients of the 2020 Fleischman Family Awards for Excellence in Criminal Clinic.
Delgado, who will graduate from Chicago-Kent College of Law in December 2020, earned a B.A. in philosophy and a minor in criminology, law, and justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago. During law school he worked in the Criminal Defense in Illinois and its relationship to emerging technology. Since new technology such as streaming services and cloud-based service platforms have no physical location where transactions occur, there is some confusion about the scope of home rule power for municipalities. Pechous covers existing law in the paper and offers specific tips and guidelines to practicing Litigation Clinic as a law clerk. While working at the clinic, he obtained his 711 license, which allows law students to represent clients in court under the supervision of licensed attorneys. Additionally, Delgado is an executive board member for the Hispanic/Latino Law Students’ Association and a Chicago-Kent trial advocacy team member.
Puglise graduated magna cum laude from Oakland University with a bachelor’s degree in international relations. During law school she worked as a law clerk for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for criminal appeals and later, as a 711 licensed law clerk for the felony division. Puglise was a member of the Chicago-Kent Law Review, the Chicago-Kent Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, and the Kent Justice Foundation. She received CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in Criminal Procedure: Investigative Processes, Trial Advocacy 2, and Legal Writing 4 courses.
Puglise has accepted an offer to work as an assistant state’s attorney at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office post-graduation.
The Fleischman Family Awards for Excellence in Criminal Clinic were established by Chicago-Kent alumni and criminal defense attorneys Jack and Sidney Z. Fleischman ’87 in 2008 to recognize outstanding students in the criminal defense section
Monica Pechous ’20 Wins 2020 Willis R. Tribler Law Student Writing Competition
Monica Pechous ’20 has won the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education 2020 Willis R. Tribler Law Student Writing Competition for her article titled “The Impact of Technology on Home Rule Power in Illinois.” This is her third writing competition win over the past year.
In the paper, Pechous examines home rule power of the Chicago-Kent Law Offices.
attorneys on how they can adapt as home rule power changes and shifts over time.
Pechous earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing and communication studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She worked remotely as an intellectual property litigation clerk for Tucker Ellis LLP in St. Louis this past summer, and has accepted an offer to work as an associate attorney at the firm upon bar passage. Pechous is graduating early and will receive her degree this December.
Amy Cortez ’20 Receives 2020 Sandra P. Zemm Labor Law Prize
Amy Cortez ’20 is the recipient of the 2020 Sandra P. Zemm Labor Law Prize. Cortez graduated in May with a J.D. degree, a J.D. certificate in labor and employment law, and a certificate from the Praxis Program. Cortez was a student editor for the Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal and a member of the competitive Alternative Dispute Resolution team (2018–19).
Cortez received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The prize was established in 2009 at Chicago-Kent College of Law by the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw LLP to honor the memory of Sandra P. Zemm, who died in September 2008 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Zemm Prize winners receive $2,000 along with the award.
Bryant Roby ’20 was named among six finalists for Law Student of the Year by National Jurist Magazine. The announcement was made in the spring 2020 issue of the publication.
Roby was actively involved in extracurricular activities at Chicago-Kent College of Law, including serving as president of Chicago-Kent’s Moot Court Honor Society (2019–20)
Enrique Espinoza ’22,
recipient of the Gary Laser Professionalism Award, is a member of the Immigration Law Society, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Hispanic/ Latino Law Students’ Association. He graduated from Universidad Veracruzana with a degree in tourism business administration.
Espinoza worked in the Immigration Law Clinic at Chicago-Kent College of Law on family petitions, removal proceedings, asylums petitions, bond proceedings, credible fear interviews, and voluntary departure. Espinoza also received a mediator certification and worked at the Mediation/ADR Clinic at Chicago-Kent. He was and Black Law Students Association (2018–19).
He also worked tirelessly on initiatives to benefit the local community, including assisting Chicago-Kent Adjunct Professor William Kling in establishing the Black Community Provider Network. As Midwest regional director of career and professional development for the National Black Law Students Association in 2018–19, Roby helped organize and run a job fair and a career expo. Roby was the only student selected for a 2019 Hinshaw Diversity Scholarship from the law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP.
Roby graduated in May and has accepted an offer to work as an associate attorney
Enrique Espinoza ’22 Receives 2020 Gary Laser Professionalism Award
at Hinshaw upon bar passage. awarded a fellowship to attend the Diversity Student ADR Summit: Roadmap to a Career in ADR in New York in November 2019.
Created in 2017, the endowed prize recognizes students working in the C-K Law Group: The Law Offices of Chicago-Kent who have best exemplified promise as practitioners as well as the highest standard of ethics.
Chicago-Kent College of Law students Shaunagh McGoldrick’22 and Zachery Taylor ’21 received 2020 Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowships to support their public interest work this past summer.
Stevens Fellowships are open to first- and second-year Chicago-Kent students who have secured public-interest legal positions at either not-for-profit organizations or governmental entities for the summer. Stevens fellows are selected based on their commitment to public service and their potential for excellence throughout their legal careers.
This past summer McGoldrick completed a virtual internship with Legal Aid Chicago’s Housing Practice Group on eviction defense and housing conditions issues. She assisted with client intakes and drafting discovery documents, letters to landlords, and funding applications for clients who needed to move. She also had an opportunity to draft a complaint, a petition for certiorari, and a motion to seal.
During law school, McGoldrick has been a volunteer and co-manager of the Self-Help Web Desk and worked for the C-K Law Group’s Plaintiff’s Employment Clinic. She is a 2L representative for the Chicago-Kent Lambdas and the Chicago-Kent National Lawyers Guild, a junior associate for the Chicago-Kent Law Review, and a member of Moot Court Honor Society. McGoldrick is currently a judicial intern for Cook County Circuit Court Judge Eve Reilly.
McGoldrick earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Montana and holds a bachelor’s degree in political communication from Emerson College. Prior to attending law school, she was a full-time social worker who worked as an advocate and counselor for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Taylor completed his summer internship with Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. During law school, he has been active with the National Lawyers Guild, Kent Justice Foundation, and was president of the Chicago-Kent Lambdas (2019–2020). He is also a research assistant to Chicago-Kent Professor Bernadette Atuahene. Since January, Taylor has been a 711 intern with Legal Aid Chicago’s Housing Practice Group. He earned his bachelor’s degree in geographical studies, comparative race, and ethnic studies from the University of Chicago.
