Professor Richard Gonzalez named director of clinical education at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law

Clinical Professor Richard Gonzalez has been named director of clinical education at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.

In his new position, Professor Gonzalez will oversee one of the nation's largest law school clinical programs. He will supervise nine clinical professors, six associates and a staff of support personnel in the only fee-generating in-house law office within an American law school. He will continue his teaching responsibilities and his work with the law school's Labor and Employment Law, Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Praxis certificate programs.

A member of the faculty since 1988, Professor Gonzalez teaches courses in employment discrimination, pretrial litigation, and the law school's new 1L Your Way program. As a clinical professor in the Law Offices of Chicago-Kent, he represents employees and employers in a wide variety of discrimination, wrongful discharge, and defamation cases in federal and state court and in anti-discrimination agencies. Professor Gonzalez's practice places particular emphasis on cases involving victims of employment discrimination and negotiation of severance agreements.

Professor Gonzalez earned his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University and his law degree at Ohio State University College of Law.

Prior to joining the IIT Chicago-Kent faculty, Professor Gonzalez was a litigator with the Chicago law firm of James D. Montgomery and Associates. He also spent four years as an attorney with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, and three years as an administrative law judge for the State of Illinois Human Rights Commission. Professor Gonzalez is a member of the Federal Trial Bar of the Northern District of Illinois.

In 2014, Professor Gonzalez was inducted into the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, which recognizes the nation's top labor and employment attorneys. In 2008, he received an Award for Excellence in Public Interest from the United States District Court and the Chicago chapter of the Federal Bar Association for his public service work.

Professor Gonzalez is a frequent speaker and author on the topics of employment discrimination and wrongful discharge. In addition to serving as co-executive editor of the leading treatise Employment Discrimination Law by Lindemann & Grossman (BNA), he has written numerous practitioner-oriented articles.

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.

Established in 1976, the Law Offices of Chicago-Kent is the first fee-generating law school clinic in the United States. The Law Offices offer a wide range of long-standing programs in live-client clinical legal education, including in-house clinics and externship programs. In-house clinical programs include criminal defense, employment discrimination and civil rights litigation, entrepreneurial law, environmental law, family law, health and disability law, intellectual property, mediation and alternative dispute resolution, and tax and probate. The Law Offices handle more than 1,000 cases each year with second- and third-year law students working closely under the supervision of teaching attorneys/clinical professors at IIT Chicago-Kent.