DePaul Legal Clinic Spotlight, Spring 2023

Message from Martha Pagliari

Assistant Dean of Experiential Learning

Welcome to the DePaul Law Experiential Newsletter This spring, we are highlighting the Business Law Clinic, which was the first, and remains the only, in-house legal clinic dedicated solely to transactional business work The success of the Business Law Clinic is due to the vision and dedication of its

its founder, Julie Lawton, and its Director, Steven Wiser They have created an innovative and collaborative learning opportunity for our students The Clinic students provide legal consultation and collaborate with graduate students from DePaul University’s College of Business and College of Digital Media to provide financial and information security to provide wraparound services to women-owned and BIPOC-owned businesses We also highlight our Racial Justice Fellow, Nathan Fleming, who is seeking to have an impact in key areas at the intersection of racial justice and community equity issues. Finally, we are proud of the continuing work of our clinics and competition teams, which are also highlighted. We wish you a happy spring!

Best,

Martha Pagliari

Assistant Dean of Experiential Learning

The Business Law Clinic's Founder, Julie D. Lawton, Professor of Law

The Business Law Clinic (“BLC”), now in its fifth year, was created in 2018 by Professor Julie D. Lawton to provide an in-house clinical experience for law students’ growing interest in Business Law The BLC was the first, and remains the only, in-house legal clinic dedicated solely to transactional business work at DePaul Professor Steven Wiser joined the BLC, first as an adjunct and later as co-director, bringing his many years of private practice, experience in intellectual property, business law, and legal talent to the BLC

Beginning in its second year of operation, Professor Lawton added an internship program to the BLC In this internship program, BLC offers paid internships to graduate students from the University’s College of Business (“COB”) and Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media (“CDM”) to work in collaboration with

BLC law students to provide financial and information security consulting to BLC clients COB and CDM have generously provided funding to support the internship program

Since its founding five years ago, the BLC has hosted 32 law students, 7 COB interns and 5 CDM interns The BLC has represented over 20 small businesses in various legal, business and information security matters BLC Business Interns have conducted financial statement analysis and financial projections, marketing and market share analysis, brand growth and redesign advice, and other business guidance to BLC clients. BLC Tech Interns have completed IT risk assessments, drafted IT security policies, and conducted a training workshop on identifying phishing scams for small business clients. BLC law students have led contract negotiations, drafted and negotiated service and licensing agreements, drafted shareholder and operating agreements, corporate leases, advised on corporate governance, employment, and intellectual property legal matters, and helped with refinancing corporate loans

As of Jan 2023, 100% of BLC law student alumni are employed and are working at firms such as Alvarez & Marsal, Baker McKenzie, Hinshaw & Culbertson, Jenner & Block, Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis, Miller Canfield, and Sidley Austin

Steven Wiser - Business Law Clinic Director

Steven L. Wiser joined DePaul in 2018. Prior to joining DePaul, he was the Trademark Clinic Director at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School. In private practice for over 20 years, he focused his practice on international and domestic intellectual property and business litigation and transactional matters His transactional work encompassed negotiating and preparing intellectual property and related business agreements and related information technology agreements encompassing U S and European privacy law matters He received his BA and JD from Loyola University Chicago and his LLM in Intellectual Property Law from UIC

The BLC is an immersive two semester course where law students counsel businesses from the Women in Entrepreneurship Institute at DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business directly under the guidance and supervision of four faculty members The BLC has a student to teahcer ratio of 2:1 The four faculty members bring over 46 years of business law experience to the BLC

During the academic year the course is specifically tailored to provide doctrinal foundations in the areas of, employment, privacy, finance, corporate governance, commercial real estate, mergers & acquisitions, professional conduct, as well as intellectual property based on the type of matters law students will be working on for their clients In addition, law students are provided instruction in the areas of professionalism, lawyer identity, entrepreneurship, negotiation skills, contract drafting, as well as topics concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion

Since its inception in 2018, the BLC has rendered over 600 hours of pro bono legal services to its clients each semester

Business Law Clinic Adjunct Professors

Eric Zhi, counsel at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, brings to the BLC his transactional business experience in mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate transactions, and corporate matters

"Navigating the intersection of law and business has been a fascinating journey, especially with the privilege of working alongside the bright students and accomplished business clients at the BLC It has been an experience that I will always cherish and be grateful for "

-Eric Zhi

Victoria Gray is senior counsel at LaPointe Law and brings to the BLC her experience in a wide range of state and federal labor and employment matters, including employment discrimination and harassment. Victoria Gray focuses her practice on counseling employers on a wide range of labor and employment matters, including state and federal court litigation, grievance arbitrations, labor board proceedings, and proceedings before various administrative agencies She advises and represents clients regarding employment discrimination, harassment, leave management, employee hiring and retention, and wage and hour matters

"Working with the students feels like an extension to my labor & employment practice Quite often, the issues the students are counseling their clients on are precisely the same issues that my clients are facing Advising the students as they manage client relationships and set expectations very much reminds me of my early years in practice "

-Victoria Gray

Abigail Ingram, J D , launched the Women in Entrepreneurship Institute at DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business, and served as its inaugural director for three years An entrepreneur herself, Abigail taught courses at Driehaus in Entrepreneurship Law, Entrepreneurship Strategy, and Women Entrepreneurs, and currently supervises the graduate students consultants working out of the Business Law Clinic as an adjunct faculty member Abigail is passionate about the role of entrepreneurship as a pathway to economic empowerment

"Since the addition of tech and business consulting in 2019 as wraparound services for growing businesses, the Business Law Clinic has provided over 560 hours of consulting to women- and BIPOC-owned businesses each semester. I am thrilled to work with the attorneys at the Clinic and to train graduate students to deliver professional-level services for community businesses."

-Abigail Ingram

Students and Consultants

"DePaul’s Business Law Clinic is an unrivaled opportunity to gain practical legal experience assisting entrepreneurs; namely, a Latinaowned construction consulting corporation that manages the most impactful projects across overlooked Chicagoland communities, and its affiliate specializing in structural engineering

We helped streamline our client's negotiation process to keep managers on-site, positively impacting neglected communities, and out of conference rooms, bogged-down by paperwork Representing our clients, we guided management around the nuances of local licensing regulations to assist the company achieve design firm status Collectively, we leveraged our clients' relationship to cut-back on overhead and promote their financial stability

The experience representing such unprecedented and impactful organizations felt effortless and made my contributions feel purposeful, thereby living-up to the Vincentian values our school is founded on."

Angelo D'Agostini J D Candidate '23

Business Clinic is one of the memorable experiences ughout our time in law school We enjoy being able to interact individual clients and work to help solve problems The Clinic shown us how important it is to recognize business points of a t to help remedy legal issues to the best advantage of the client g given the opportunity to work through a client’s real estate isition, we learned so much about the details of offer letters and hase/sale agreements This is a first-hand experience we would ave received in a typical law school class and know it will be mely beneficial in our future careers!"

Betsy Pisabaj J.D. Candidate '24

t: Kaitlin Stanfield J D Candidate '24

"The clinic gave me the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge learned through academic experience Applying technical skills while I obtain them has been a crucial part of my professional experience at DePaul so far Not only did I get relevant experience for the career path I am considering, but I also learned a lot from the legal discussions between the law students The exposure to legal issues associated with business decisions gave me a well-rounded view of business administration In that sense, I believe my experience with the law clinic has given me more than I could have contributed to it "

Joseph Lomo-Mainoo Kellstadt School of Business '23, MS in Finance

"Participating in the Business Law Clinic has provided me with the invaluable opportunity of being able to work closely with our clients on various legal issues Although this experience has been challenging, it has also been extremely rewarding! I’ve earned the privilege of practicing law in the “driver's seat” and feel more confident in myself knowing that I’ve developed a range of transferable professional skills."

Ryley King J.D. Candidate '24

"As a graduate student who is studying Cybersecurity with a concentration in Governance, Risk, and Compliance, I was able to apply the knowledge I learned in my courses directly to the Business Law Clinic program. I approached the Business Law Clinic from a technical perspective This program gave me hands-on experience that I will encounter in my career I had the opportunity to create security policies for the clients, make them aware of real cyber threats, and educate them on password management, social engineering tactics, and how to keep their systems up to date It is an honor to work with my peers and mentors and share my technological perspective and learn more about legal and business perspectives as well "

-Arun Sailan Master's in Cybersecurity '23

"Working on projects for a client whose work shapes the Chicago skyline and impacts our communities is very rewarding This is the type of experience I came to law school for Thank you Business Law Clinic "

Lizbeth Aviles

J D Candidate '24

"The Business Law Clinic is the best decision I have made in law school Getting a year's worth of real, practical legal experience as a student has been invaluable I have learned countless valuable lessons that I will take into my career and for the rest of my life Whether it be conferencing with our amazing clients, analyzing and solving novel legal issues with tangible implications, or building genuine professional and personal connections with my fellow students and the faculty within the Clinic, my experience in the Business Law Clinic has been nothing short of fantastic I highly recommend this Clinic to anyone considering it "

-Joseph Ranieri J D Candidate, '23

“Being apart of DePaul’s Business Law Clinic was probably one of the smartest decisions I made in law school Finding a course that gives you application, real world clients and personalities, team building, or guidance from current practicing attorneys is hard to come by and even harder to find in one class That experience is extremely valuable in preparing a student for their career and confirming that this is the type of law they wish to practice "

Tiffany Cole J D Candidate '23

Business Law Clinic Clients

"Working with the Business Law Clinic at DePaul has been a tremendous opportunity My small business has been guided with the utmost, diligent practice that could possibly be provided. The support and knowledge provided by the Business Law Clinic will be advantageous for years to come."

Ashley Wallace-Peters, Manager & Sole Member Le’Flair Hair Lounge, PLLC

"The assistance afforded to my company by the students from the Business Law Clinic was priceless As a budding entrepreneur there are so many unknowns and tasks to complete The Clinic helped us establish a business growth plan and drafted our equitable policy manual They even pointed out our strengths and encouraged us to be proud of those achievements It was a great experience "

Claudette Soto | President baso, Ltd

"As a business owner of a boutique marketing and communications firm, it was quite fascinating to work with dynamic and passionate law students They did extensive research for our company which resulted in getting updated IC contracts and an employment offer letter These legal documents were tremendous resources to help our agency scale faster and more efficiently In addition, we also received guidance on risk management policies for the agency from the business law students I would definitely work with the law clinic again for our legal needs "

Larvetta L. Loftin, Founder of The L3 Agency, LLC

Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic

During the Fall 2022 semester, the Asylum and Immigration Clinic (AILC) invited immigration practitioners to discuss Making the Transition to Practice with AILC students Students were encouraged to consider what comes after law school and had the opportunity to learn about career paths in immigration in the private, nonprofit and public sectors.

Nat Damren (staff attorney with the Immigration Unit at the Office of the Cook County Public Defender and formerly with the Brooklyn Defender Services as a Padilla attorney), Megan Davis (director of legal services at Erie Neighborhood and previously with Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors) and Kelli A Fennell (partner at the firm of Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd and co-chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Advocacy Committee and AILA Chicago Chapter Executive Board Member) discussed with students how they became involved in the field, what continues to motivate them and what has proved helpful to them in their professional experiences Mr Damren, Ms Davis and Ms Fennell are all alumni of the Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic and the DePaul College of Law

CROAK Community Legal Clinic

The Croak Community Legal Clinic hosted a series of “Know Your Rights” presentations in November that were open to the entire DePaul community and the public "Renters’ Rights for Quality Housing" gave instruction on how to deal with apartment condition problems, maintenance, and more During this event, the mission of the Clinic students was to help Chicago renters understand their right to decent and safe housing, and to provide Chicago renters with tools to selfadvocate "Bad Things Happen to Good People: Make Your Plan!" gave participants access to living wills and estate planning resources At this event, Clinic students had the opportunity to offer attendees training and assistance with creating their power of attorney documents According to Sarah Baum, a professor of the Croak Community Legal Clinic, "Advance planning can avoid conflict and stress for your loved ones and give you peace of mind While nobody likes to think about the end of their life, you can take control of your future by expressing your wishes and appointing people to handle your affairs before you face an emergency ”

(R-L): Nat Damren (staff attorney with the Immigration Unit Pilot at the Cook County Public Defender and a 2011 graduate of the DePaul College of Law); Kelli A. Fennell (Partner with Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd., co-chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Advocacy Committee, and a DePaul grad who participated in the Clinic); and Megan Davis (Director of Legal Services at Erie Neighborhood House and a former staff attorney at Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors).

(R-L): Judge James Fujimoto, Michelle Barrera-Valenzuela, Alyssa Moniet, Kimberly Martinez, Anastasia Didaskalou, James Fleming, Sioban Albiol, Jessica Mendoza, Elizabeth Haris, Rumyana Karagogova, LaShae Prins.

Criminal Appeals Clinic

The Criminal Appeals Clinic recently won the reversal of a client's drug-possession conviction under the Fourth Amendment Joshua Thigpen, now a 3L student, drafted the opening brief under the supervision of Adjunct Professor Gil Lenz in Spring 2022 It was undisputed that the police had no probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe the client had committed a crime, but the trial court found the police obtained the incriminating evidence during a "consensual" encounter with the client Joshua convinced the Appellate Court that the encounter was not consensual, and thus violated the Fourth Amendment, where the police approached the client when he was alone in an isolated location, then told him they had been watching him for an hour and believed he was engaged in criminal activity The Appellate Court agreed with Joshua that any subsequent agreement by the client to police requests was nonconsensual, requiring suppression of any evidence obtained This client will now have his only felony conviction removed from his record

DePaul’s National Trial Team

Congratulations to DePaul’s National Trial Team! This fall, team members, Tamsen Cronin, Cindy Lawando, Karina Shumyatskaya, and Michael Youssef, were invited to compete at the National Criminal Trial Advocacy Competition in San Francisco Competing against 28 teams from all over the country, the DePaul's team placed fifth Shumyatskaya, adds "The Trial team has definitely been a transformative experience It’s a big time commitment, but ultimately, it’s an investment in yourself. Joining the team was the best decision I made in law school. It doesn't just build on your trial advocacy skills - it builds on your confidence " The team is coached by Katie Polak, Miranda Niles, Theodore Thomas and Takenya Nixon Coach Nixon says "As a National Trial Team coach, I look at my students

as if they were my children. Their failures are my failures and their hurt is my hurt. But their success is all theirs. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication they put into their education Their hard work got the team into the quarter finals of the 2022 National Criminal Trial Advocacy Competition in San Francisco I often think back to the moment we heard our team had advanced The pride and joy I felt for my students still puts a smile on my face today "

DePaul’s Moot Court team

Congratulations to DePaul’s Moot Court team! Team members, Benjamin Dockery, Natalie Fouque, and Margot Sheridan competed at the Chicago Bar Association Moot Court Competition in November The team made the school proud with their many accomplishments, including winning 2nd Place

Overall In addition, Margot Sheridan won the Best Oralist award, and Natalie Fouque won the Second Best Oralist award The team is coached by DePaul alumni and former Moot Court Student Board President, Rain Montero

Natalie Fouque, Margot Sheridan, Benjamin Dockery

Left to Right: Cindy Lawando, Tamsen Cronin, Michael Youssef and Karina Shumyatskaya.

Racial Justice Fellow - Nathan Fleming

As DePaul College of Law's inaugural Racial Justice Fellow, Nathan Fleming will study and advocate for vulnerable communities in Chicago He is a doctoral candidate in higher education at the University of Pennsylvania, researching important questions at the intersection of law, race, public policy, and education His dissertation explores the evolution of mission at Historically Black Law Schools and provides an up-to-date account of the history of African Americans in American law schools

Fleming, a native of Washington, DC, previously served as shadow U.S. Representative for the District of Columbia, an elected advocate to Congress on issues related to DC statehood and other federal matters His work was instrumental in the passage of the historic DC Statehood legislation in the House of Representatives in 2020 and 2021 He also served as a legislative and committee director at the DC Council where he authored several pieces of legislation to expand educational, housing, employment, and community equity throughout Washington DC Fleming taught Appellate Advocacy as an adjunct professor at the University of the District of Columbia David A Clarke School of Law and was awarded the Yale Entrepreneurship Fellowship in 2013

He earned his bachelor's degree in Political Science from Morehouse College, his master's degree in Public Policy from Harvard University, and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Racial Justice Student Research Assistant Positions

In Spring 2023, the Racial Justice Initiative hired student research assistants, providing them with experience and training in research-based policy work, advocacy and education Students working in the RJI will work on local and state change campaigns and will develop innovative and systemic strategies to advance racial justice for marginalized individuals and groups Students will conduct legal and social science research and analysis, interview stakeholders and experts, draft legislation, plan events, and develop oral advocacy and public relations skills Ultimately, the RJI will prepare students to use their legal skills to develop and execute social change campaigns

The RJI will seek to have an impact in key areas at the intersection of racial justice and community equity issues, such as policing, housing, economic opportunity, education, health and voting rights. It will have an interdisciplinary focus on the legal system and public policy, particularly in Chicago and the State of Illinois The RJI will develop non-litigation strategies to attack systems that perpetuate racial injustice and take actions to build momentum for broader, scalable reform

Faculty/ Staff

Assistant Dean of Experiential Learning; Professor of Legal Practice mpagliar@depaul.edu

SiobanAlbiol Professor of Legal Practice and Director, Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic salbiol@depaul.edu

JamesR Fujimoto Clinical Adjunct Instructor & Senior Practitioner in Residence, Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic jfujimoto@depaul.edu

StevenWiser Director of Externships, Director Business Law Clinic swiser@depaul.edu

AbigailIngram Clinical Adjunct Instructor Business Law Clinic aingram@depaul.edu

EricZhi Clinical Adjunct Instructor Business Law Clinic jzhi@depaul.edu

VictoriaGray Clinical Adjunct Instructor Business Law Clinic vgray1@depaul.edu

DavidRodriguez Faculty Director, Third Year in Practice Program (3YP); Clinical Instructor, Civil Litigation Clinic; Professor of Legal Practice drodri38@depaul.edu

MariaHarrigan Clinical Adjunct Instructor, Criminal Appeals Clinic mharrig4@depaul.edu

Elizabeth A.Botti Clinical Adjunct Instructor, Criminal Appeals Clinic ebotti@depaul.edu

EdithaRosarioMoore Clinical Adjunct Instructor, Criminal Appeals Clinic erosari2@depaul.edu

GilLenz Clinical Adjunct Instructor, Criminal Appeals Clinic glenz@depaul.edu

D'AnthonyThedford Clinical Adjunct Instructor Croak Community Legal Clinic tony@thedfordgarberlaw.com

PhillipMohr Field Clinic Practice: Family Law, Field Clinic Seminar: Family Law pmohr@depaul.edu

RobertZielinski Field Clinic Practice: Family Law, Field Clinic Seminar: Family Law rzielin3@depaul.edu

GregCasimer Clinical Adjunct Instructor, TIP Field Clinic gcasimer@depaul.edu

JamesClark Clinical Adjunct Instructor Litigation Lab jclark6@depaul.edu

ElisabethWard International Human Rights Law Practicum, International Human Rights Law Practicum eward3@depaul.edu

NathanBennett Fleming Racial Justice Fellow nflemin2@depaul.edu

CassidyEvans Experiential Learning Coordinator

c.evan@depaul.edu