Public Interest at UIC Law
Introduction
Service to the community has been a part of the UIC Law's tradition since the law school’s inception, and continues to inspire our students to professional excellence. Our law school strongly encourages our students to contribute to society through pursuing public interest law careers, pro bono work, and fellowships.
Student Work in Public Interest Sectors
Professor Kim D. Ricardo Awarded Inaugural Lucy Sprague Professorship In Public Interest
Kim D. Ricardo, professor of law and associate dean of experiential education, has been awarded the inaugural Lucy Sprague Professorship in Public Interest. The three-year opportunity, termed through 2027, is the law school’s first donor-funded professorship and was designed to continue advancements in public service and to ensure that education and research around public interest is readily available.
Professor Ricardo’s personal and professional commitment to deepening society’s collective understanding of how group-based differences such as race, gender, and class impact the unequal distribution of resources, paralleled with her mission to advance social justice causes and uplift the voices of marginalized groups through her volunteer work made her eligible to serve in the endowed professorship.
Lucy Sprague Public Service Award Recipients
The Lucy Sprague Public Service Scholarship was established by long-time law school supporters and donors, The Sprague family, to honor the memory of law student Lucy Sprague and her commitment to public service-work. Each year, it is awarded to a law student currently pursuing public interest law.
Sarah Elizabeth Parsons
With a deep-rooted passion for social justice and a commitment to advocating for survivors of domestic violence and sex crimes, Parsons has made it her mission to advocate for survivors of injustice.
“Advocating for survivors of domestic violence and sex crimes was one of my main goals for going to law school and wanting to start my career at the State’s Attorney’s Office. I wanted to get my hands dirty and face the injustices with the people in mind first,” Parsons said regarding her dreams of becoming a prosecutor for victims of sex crimes.
Parsons’ work as a Victim Advocate and Social Worker, as well as her own testimony of survival, made her journey into the legal field both personal and professional. Utilizing her master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from Loyola University, Parsons worked closely with many individuals who fought barriers to receiving their share of justice. She understood firsthand how the legal system can retraumatize victims and used her personal story to publicly create legislative change within Illinois, thus increasing transparency for rape kit tracking and giving survivors greater agency in the criminal justice process.
Ruby Valle
Ruby’s Valle’s interest in public service preceded her decision to attend law school. Coupling her experiences with growing up in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Chicago’s south side with the homicide of her brother when she was 17 years old, Ruby developed an “interest in studying crime.” These two life-changing experiences were motivating factors that solidified her passion to go into public interest law and become a state’s attorney.
Ruby also served as an AmeriCorps member working with pro se litigants at the Daley Center in Chicago prior to starting law school. After having an internship offer deferred with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ruby remained resilient and applied once again and obtained her 7-11 license that allowed her to gain field experience and litigate in court or be on record under the supervision of a licensed assistant state’s attorney.
Obtaining a 7-11 license exposed Ruby to diverse, well-rounded experiences to add to her journey to becoming an Assistant States Attorney. She worked in the felony trial division, preliminary hearings and grand jury unit and then in the misdemeanor’s unit for two years before being offered a permanent position as a Bar Taker post commencement, then an official role as an Assistant State’s Attorney pending bar passage.
