Cristina Headley, a 2011 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, is working at the Fair Housing Legal Clinic as its newest attorney fellow. She will be working with students and staff through May 2013.
Headley, who spent two semesters at the clinic while in law school, now is supervising students on various cases in the Circuit Court of Cook County, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Cook County Commission of Human Rights, and the Chicago Department of Human Rights.
“In the summer, it’s a condensed semester, so there is much work to be done. We have cases dealing with all types of housing discrimination but many now concern people who are treated differently due to their disabilities, sexual orientation and Section 8 source of income,” Headley explained. “I believe the work we’re doing is encouraging our clients to stand up for the opportunities that should be given to them.”
Her own experience at the clinic drafting complaints, working on initial motions on a major federal discrimination case, and settling a case at a mediation conference exposed her to the different ways people are discriminated against in housing because of their health, disability and family status, and how such discrimination restricted people’s access to and enjoyment of housing. These experiences fueled her commitment to public interest law.
“I had been a teaching assistant for John Marshall’s International Human Rights class on Women in Developing Countries, and I had volunteered with the CARPLS Program, a network offering legal advice and assistance in finding legal services.”
She found that John Marshall provided her opportunities to gain experience on a wide range of public interest concerns, including international human rights.
“I had such a wonderful experience at the Clinic of working with people whose choices had been limited unjustly,” she said. “I wanted to further that goal I set for myself, and this attorney fellow position is a great way for me to do that.”