Law Student and Army Officer Returns from Deployment in Somalia to Valedictorian Success
Jordan Salzman
Jordan Salzman, 3L student and cavalry officer in the Illinois Army National Guard, has been named valedictorian for the UIC School of Law Fall Class of 2025. Balancing the demanding roles of law student and soldier, Salzman’s path through law school has been anything but traditional. Over five years, he took multiple semesters off to fulfill his military duties, often transitioning between academic life and Army service.
Throughout law school, Salzman also completed several military trainings, earning top honors along the way, including Honor Graduate from Officer Candidate School and Distinguished Honor Graduate from the Armor Basic Officer Leadership Course.
In 2024, Salzman was deployed to Somalia, missing the entire fall 2024–summer 2025 academic year. Upon returning home, he quickly rejoined his legal studies for the fall 2025 semester.
“Balancing school and military service has been an intense and rewarding experience,” Salzman said. “It’s challenging because what I do as a soldier is vastly different from what I do in the legal world. I’m definitely a nontraditional student in that sense. Taking a complete step back from school to focus on my job overseas ultimately motivated me to come back this semester and finish strong.”
Before his deployment, Salzman had already distinguished himself both in the classroom and through his co-curricular achievements. As managing editor of the UIC Law Review, he oversaw publication processes, coordinated editorial teams, and ensured the quality and accuracy of legal scholarship across four published volumes. He earned CALI Excellence for the Future awards for achieving the highest grades in Constitutional Law I and II. Salzman also excelled in the Moot Court Program, winning 1st place in the 14th Annual 1L Moot Court Competition and earning 2nd Best Brief in the Gibbons Moot Court Competition alongside his teammates. His passion for advocacy led him to serve as a preparedness coach for multiple sections of Lawyering Skills III and to be recognized as a member of the Moot Court Honors Council.
Salzman also found a way to merge his military background with his legal training through his work in the Veterans Legal Clinic at UIC Law.
“What’s great about working in the clinic is that you serve real veteran clients with real issues. It’s an incredibly rewarding experience,” Salzman said.
In the clinic, he worked on VA benefit appeals and discharge upgrade applications. Salzman’s work has contributed to the settlement of a class action that benefited thousands of veterans and secured a 100% disability rating with substantial back pay for another client. As an advanced student attorney, he also mentored and guided fellow student clinicians.
Outside of the classroom, Salzman has continued to excel. He served as a judicial extern in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where he drafted two memorandum opinions and orders, conducted legal research on state and federal issues, participated in a federal RICO trial, and observed discovery, motion, and sentencing hearings. He also worked as a law clerk for several firms, including Dixon Law Office and Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo. Most recently, he served as a summer associate at Husch Blackwell, where he received a post-graduation offer to join the firm’s Mass Tort and Product Liability Practice Group, pending bar passage.
Salzman credits much of his law school success to UIC Law’s Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution concentration and the dedicated faculty who teach both doctrinal and practical courses.
“UIC Law strikes a great balance between doctrinal courses taught by tenured and associate professors, and practice-focused courses like trial advocacy, alternative dispute resolution, and depositions—where you learn directly from practicing judges, in-house counsel, and litigation partners,” Salzman said.
He also notes that law school has enhanced his leadership and analytical skills in the Army.
“Law school teaches you to think critically and approach problems analytically. When you combine that with the persuasive skills developed in advocacy training, it’s made me a stronger and more effective leader in my military career,” he concluded.