Rachel Brady '13 named a 2015 Skadden Fellow

IIT Chicago-Kent alumna Rachel Brady is the recipient of a 2015 Skadden Fellowship. Established in 1988 by the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, the prestigious two-year fellowship supports graduating law students and judicial clerks who wish to pursue public interest work.

Brady, who graduated from IIT Chicago-Kent in 2013 with a certificate in public interest law, currently serves as a staff clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. One of only 28 people selected nationwide, she said, "I am honored and excited to be a Skadden fellow. I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to do this work."

During her fellowship period, Brady will work at Equip for Equality, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that protects the rights of people with disabilities in Illinois. Brady's project will focus on representing youth with disabilities in, or transitioning out of, Illinois juvenile justice facilities and Chicago's alternative schools. She will work to keep them in school and secure appropriate special education services for them under various federal laws.

"Half of incarcerated youth in Illinois have disabilities and do not receive appropriate educational services while they are in prison, and then do not always have access to appropriate services when they transition back into their community schools," said Brady.

"I'm going to be representing those youth to help enforce their educational rights. This project has the potential to reach hundreds of at-risk youth, giving them access to the educations they need and deserve," she said. "I'm looking forward to working directly with students and families again, and I am so grateful to the Skadden Foundation for giving me this opportunity."

Brady earned a bachelor of arts degree magna cum laude in political science from Macalester College, and a master of arts degree in teaching from Dominican University. Prior to law school, she worked for Teach for America and spent six months in New Zealand with Help Exchange.

At IIT Chicago-Kent, Brady was an award-winning member of the Moot Court Honor Society, served as a Kent Legal Scholar, worked in the Chicago Environmental Law Clinic, and won a public service award from the Illinois State Bar Association's Law Student Division.

During her first year at IIT Chicago-Kent, Brady received a Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Summer Fellowship and worked at the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Inc. There, she created an organization-wide "Educational Equity Project" that addressed education issues from policy and litigation approaches. The following year, Brady served as a Public Interest Law Initiative legal intern with the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU of Illinois and as a volunteer intern with Equip for Equality. She was inducted into the IIT Chicago-Kent Chapter of the Order of the Coif.

Founded in 1888, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, a private, technology-focused, research university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, architecture, business, design, human sciences, applied technology, and law. IIT Chicago-Kent is dedicated to supporting students, alumni and those in the legal community pursuing the public interest through its Certificate in Public Interest Law, initiatives, events, curriculum, student organizations and faculty.