3L Makes Strides within Fair Housing Cases and LGBTQ+ Advocacy through the UIC Law Fair Housing Clinic
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3L Jacob Hulbert has been influential in his advocacy for fair housing practices and being a voice for the LGBTQ+ community and those who are often subject to discriminatory practices.
As a student clinician in the Fair Housing Legal Support Clinic at UIC Law, Hulbert used the insight gained from the clinic’s intake line, coupled with his own experience of combating housing discrimination, to create informational resources to help members of the community better understand the many nuances of filing a discrimination complaint.
“There are so many administrative avenues that can be difficult to understand, like who to file with and where,” Hulbert said. “I wanted to put together something to serve as a tool for members of the LGBTQ+ community to have at their fingertips without all of the legalese.”
Throughout his time in law school, Hulbert conducted in-depth research about fair housing practices in Chicago. Published in the UIC Law Review Blog, Hulbert’s article, Fair Housing Realities: The Struggles of LGBTQ+ Residents in Chicago, was designed to provide a historical understanding of LGBTQ+ housing discrimination and to serve as a contemporary tool for addressing such discrimination.
“The blog begins with a discussion of sodomy laws nationally, which essentially criminalized LGBTQ+ status, and discusses their impact on accessing housing. I then turn to a discussion of the Fair Housing Act, and its application to instances of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination given the FHA does not explicitly prohibit the same,” Hulbert said.
The article also dove into housing discrimination in Chicago and specifically focused on how failure to consider intersectionality disproportionally impacted Black LGBTQ+ individuals and highlighted various administrative avenues available for individuals to report housing discrimination.
Hulbert was also able to use his legal knowledge and skillset to be successful in the courtroom. He and other student clinicians drafted an appeal on behalf of a client complainant alleging discrimination based on sex and race under the Fair Housing Act and Illinois Human Rights Act. After an IDHR investigation concluded that the case lacked substantial evidence, Hulbert and UIC Law student Emily Zingraf drafted an appeal brief that raised procedural errors and discussed the application of the continuing violation theory. The Clinic partnered with Northside Community Resources, a fair housing organization serving the north side of Chicago, and the brief was ultimately decided in favor of the client and the initial determination was vacated for additional investigation.
Hulbert credits UIC Law’s “phenomenal professors” and access to various programs for helping to jumpstart his legal career.
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“I feel like this school has given me the tools and resources needed to succeed. And I’ve made some lifelong friends along the way.”
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Hulbert will be graduating in May 2025 with plans to work in appellate law post commencement.