News 19 - College of Law

Federal privacy laws protecting consumer data are necessary, Gerke says

The bankruptcy of the genetic testing company 23andMe has raised a number of issues, but one specifically prudent issue is the lack of legislation preventing the sale of customers’ data due to financial exigencies. Speaking with the Illinois News Bureau, Professor Sara Gerke explained why this issue is significant. “Companies like 23andMe are sitting on a massive treasure trove of personal information because when people initially signed up, they thought, ‘Well, I’m getting something out of this transaction’ without thinking about the possibility that the company would ever go bankrupt at some point in the future and potentially offload their dataset,” she said. “That’s just one example, but we are in a world awash in big data, and it’s not a problem that’s limited to 23andMe.”

Read her full interview on the Illinois News Bureau site.

Aronson speaks about immigration concerns with The 21st Show

Professor Lauren Aronson teaches a class.

The decision to revoke student visas to scores of students across the country has increased anxiety around those in education and immigration. Speaking on The 21st Show, Professor Lauren Aronson, director of the Immigration Law Clinic, discussed how universities in Illinois are responding to this crackdown and how international students are feeling in this current political climate.

Listen to the full episode online.

Mazzone and Amar publish article on executive orders targeting law firms

Executive orders from the White House targeting law firms have disrupted Big Law firms; however, many firms have negotiated deals with the administration so as to be removed from its blacklist. Professors Jason Mazzone and Vikram Amar write at Justia Verdict that there is not “much doubt that the executive orders are blatant violations of the First and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution,” and that “the law firms collectively would be better off…if none of them settled and the administration’s executive orders were forcefully and repeatedly rebuffed by courts all the way to the Supreme Court.”

Illinois LawCast: Study Abroad with Rama Hamad and Rebecca Ray

Studying the law at the University of Illinois doesn’t always mean being in Illinois. In this episode, third-year student Rama Hamad shares her experience studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, and how the chance to study internationally has helped her on her path to being an outstanding lawyer. In the second half of the episode, Rebecca Ray, assistant director for Graduate and International Studies, fills in some of the specifics about the study abroad program and how it works for Illinois Law students.

If you are interested in studying abroad, you can contact Rebecca Ray and the graduate and international programs office at law-gradprograms@illinois.edu.

Listen online.
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If you have comments or suggestions for the podcast, please contact podcast@law.illinois.edu.

College of Law names 72 employers to 2024-2025 Employer Honor Roll

Dean Jamelle Sharpe presents a plaque to alumni at Troutman Pepper Locke

Today, the University of Illinois College of Law published its 2024-2025 Employer Honor Roll, which contained a record-setting 72 employers. The Honor Roll recognizes employers who have regularly hired recent College of Law graduates. The Honor Roll contains a wide variety of employers, including, for example, law firms of many sizes, accounting firms, a wide variety of government agencies, public interest employers, and courts. Combined, Honor Roll employers have hired nearly 250 recent College of Law graduates in the Classes of 2022, 2023, 2024. The Honor Roll was first created in 2014. With the support of Honor Roll members, and hundreds of additional employers, the College of Law continues to serve as a “go to” destination for top legal talent.

“We are excited to welcome a record-breaking number of employers to our Honor Roll this year,” noted Greg Miarecki, the College’s Executive Assistant Dean for Career Planning and Professional Development. “And we are especially gratified to have longtime Honor Roll members from across the profession enhancing their standings this year – this reflects strong and continuing demand for our outstanding graduates,” Miarecki added.

Diamond
Heyl Royster
Jones Day
Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Platinum
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Chapman and Cutler LLP
Circuit Court of Cook County
Husch Blackwell LLP
Jackson Lewis P.C.
Jenner & Block LLP
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Land of Lincoln Legal Aid
McDermott Will & Emery
McGuireWoods LLP
Meyer Capel
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service
Reed Smith LLP
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender
Thompson Coburn LLP
Troutman Pepper Locke LLP
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP
Winston & Strawn LLP

Gold
Cook County Public Guardian
Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
Deloitte Tax LLP
Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLC
Dykema
Greenberg Traurig
Illinois Office of the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor
Mayer Brown LLP
Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
Office of the State Appellate Defender
Polsinelli
Quarles & Brady LLP
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
University of Illinois – Office of University Counsel
Vedder Price P.C.

Silver
Ancel Glink, P.C.
Beermann LLP
Benesch
Brennan Burtker LLC
Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C.
Del Galdo Law Group, LLC
Dickinson Wright PLLC
DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Fidelity National Financial, Inc.
Fish & Richardson P.C.
Fox Rothschild LLP
Hall Prangle & Schoonveld, LLC
Ice Miller LLP
Johnson & Bell, Ltd.
K&L Gates LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
LG Electronics
Littler Mendelson P.C.
Maron Marvel Bradley Anderson & Tardy LLC
National Labor Relations Board
Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie & Lowry
Office of the Illinois Attorney General
Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office
Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik LLP
Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP
U.S. Army JAG Corps
United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
Venable LLP

The complete list of Honor Roll employers, along with the methodology for selecting employers, can be found at www.law.illinois.edu/careers/employer-honor-roll.

Wexler and Ghiotto publish new article on the transgender military ban

Writing at Justia Verdict, Professors Lesley Wexler and Tony Ghiotto discuss the latest developments around the Executive Order banning transgender individuals from the United States’ military, including a new Action Memo from the Department of Defense and the Equal Protection aspects of the Talbott v. Trump and Shilling v. United States litigation challenging the ban. “We worry the administration will continue to publicly make attempts to discredit and attack these judges, transgender service members, and any public effort…to oppose the administration’s efforts to ban transgender members,” they write.

Read the full editorial on Justia Verdict.

ABA Rapid Response features Ghiotto discussing military legal reform

After Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s removal of senior uniformed lawyers and suggestions of further reforms among Judge Advocates General, Professor Tony Ghiotto joined the American Bar Association’s Rapid Response program to discuss threats to military rule of law. Changes among the JAG corps create risk that the military’s lawyers will be less capable of complying with domestic civil rights laws, military justice, and the international law of war.

Watch the full video online.

Gerke organizes Life Sciences AI Summit

Professor Sara Gerke was co-organizer of the Life Sciences AI Summit – Europe, which took place March 25–26, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium. The conference covered the ways in which artificial intelligence in the life sciences is affecting topics such as drug discovery and development as well as improving patient outcomes. Another important aspect of the conference was an examination of legal, regulatory, compliance, liability and ethical challenges that must be addressed to ensure responsible, safe, and effective use of AI technologies.

Learn more on the conference website.

Akanksha Balekai ’26 named Next Generation Leader

Akanksha Balekai, class of 2026, has been selected as a 2025 Next Generation Leader by the American Constitution Society. Thirty-one students from law schools around the United States were selected to be part of the 2025 cohort. The selected students were those who demonstrate strong legal skills, a commitment to public service, and a track record of leadership and community engagement.

Akanksha Balekai serves as the President of the University of Illinois chapter of the American Constitution Society and has been an active member of the national organization as well.

“Her active participation and leadership both at the law school and in association with the national chapters has been exceptional,” Professor Rummana Alam said about Balekai. “She is so passionate and dedicated to positive change by shaping debate on vitally important legal and constitutional issues through the development and promotion of high-impact ideas.”

The American Constitution Society is a non-profit, non-partisan legal organization comprising a network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others. The ACS aims to support and advocate for laws and legal systems that redress the founding failures of our Constitution, strengthen our democratic legitimacy, uphold the rule of law, and realize the promise of equality for all, including people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and other historically excluded communities

Read the ACS press release about the 2025 Next Generation Leaders.

Kyiv Independent quotes Markus ’86 on Russian sanctions

The two figures that stand beside Alma Mater represent

The United States helped broker a ceasefire in the Black Sea between Ukraine and Russia, but Russia stalled implementing the deal in hopes of having sanctions lifted first. “This may be intended to drive a further wedge between the U.S. and Europe,” Professor Taisa Markus told the Kyiv Independent in their in-depth article on the ceasefire deal.

Read the full article online.