The College of Law is thrilled to announce the appointment of Clinical Professor Lauren Aronson who will start a new Immigration Law Clinic here beginning in Fall 2019. Professor Aronson comes to us after having started a successful Immigration Law Clinic at Louisiana State University in 2015. She brings many years of immigration law experience, having previously worked at the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago and at Harvard Law School’s Immigration and Refugee Clinic.

The new Immigration Law Clinic here at the College of Law will welcome students to assist low-income clients in Central Illinois with humanitarian and family-based immigration matters. The clinic will also look to help clients in Chicago who are before the Immigration Courts there. The new clinic represents a wonderful opportunity for students to develop their lawyering skills in client interviewing, fact-gathering, counseling, legal research and writing, and oral and written advocacy as they assist Immigration Law Clinic clients. It will also introduce students to the great need for immigration assistance in our community, allowing them to help some of our most vulnerable community members as they seek safety and stability.

Melissa Frydman, Director of Clinical Education stated, “There has been a very high demand amongst students who have been looking for ways to do legal work on immigration matters here in Illinois. We are thrilled to be able to expand our clinical offerings to include this opportunity for students to learn about immigration law and see how they can use the skills they are building at the College of Law to assist clients and serve the community.”