A Community of Helpers

Before she started attending Chicago-Kent College of Law, Nicole Hentges ’26 thought she knew what law school was going to look like.

“I heard horror stories about law school students being cutthroat and ripping pages out of library books to prevent others from effectively studying,” Hentges says. “What I experienced at Chicago-Kent could not be more different. Everyone is genuinely friendly and willing to help each other.”

Hentges experienced an outpouring of support from her fellow students after the federal government hiring freeze  revoked a summer job she had been hired for at the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Chief Counsel at the last minute.

“My friends gave me excellent advice,” she says.  “No one in my immediate family are lawyers, so I truly valued my peers who were willing to give me advice and help me navigate the unknown professional landscape.”

The alumni that Hentges met have been immensely helpful on her journey as well.

“When I was interviewing for post-grad positions, there was always a Chicago-Kent alum I could talk with to help me prepare for the interview and determine whether the position was a good fit,” she says. “Even though I was a complete stranger to most people, they were still willing to help out a Chicago-Kent student.”

One alumna was a particularly important mentor. Hentges met Jill Webb ’96 at Chicago-Kent’s Small and Midsized Firm Reception during her first semester as a law student. 

She ended up clerking at the Law Office of Jill M. Webb for more than a year. Hentges received great experience at the office.

“I attended court appearances, depositions, and trials, and wrote dozens of substantive pleadings in a variety of civil litigation matters,” she says.

Hentges has also taken advantage of all that Chicago-Kent has to offer by getting involved in the Moot Court Honor Society. She won the Fay Clayton Award for Outstanding Oral Advocate at the intra-team Ilana Diamond Rovner Competition, among other victories. She also works as a senior associate at Chicago-Kent Law Review.

Hentges also got real-life legal experience by joining the team at the C-K Law Group’s Civil Litigation Clinic as a legal intern. She even obtained her 711 license and was able to conduct an opposing witness’s deposition.

“It is a tremendous honor to conduct my first real deposition before even graduating law school,” she says. “Acquiring my 711 License for clinic also ensured I was ready to use my license as a law clerk at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. There, I presented my first motion in court, under an attorney’s supervision.”

Her summer at the Attorney General’s Office was supported by the John Paul Stevens Foundation’s Public Interest Fellowship, which provides funding for two Chicago-Kent students who have obtained full-time, non-paying public interest internships over the summer. 

After graduation, Hentges will continue her public service with a position as a staff attorney for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, a two-year position that will take her back to her hometown of St. Louis. Once she serves her two years, Hentges hopes to return to Chicago and continue public interest work as a civil litigator.

Hentges is grateful for her many mentors who made her position at the Eighth Circuit possible.

“I would have counted myself out for the position if Professor Anna Debush hadn’t sent me information about the role and encouraged me to apply” says Hentges.

As a staff attorney, Hentges anticipates “researching and writing memoranda about a variety of counseled and pro se appeals to advise judges on how to rule. Because I want to be a litigator, I hope this role will teach me how to keep a clean trial record.”