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Thinking I would be staying in the field of law enforcement, I obtained my undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, majoring in criminal justice (focused on sociology rather than cj administration) and minored in political science. An injury and subsequent surgeries closed the door of law enforcement and set me on my path to practicing law.
I attended Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida and graduated December 2007. During my time in school, I found that I was being pulled in multiple directions, none of which had anything to do with criminal law.
After finally mastering IRAC formating, I began to excel in contracts. Legal research and brief writing would not have been my first choice entering law school; but I won "Best Respondent" in a mock Supreme Court Appellate Competition.
Constitutional rights was always an interest, even during my undergraduate studies; however, in law school I took this to another level. I assisted in the legal research and the writing of a brief that was used in a challenge to Alabama's Grandparent Visitation Statute. Unfortunately we didn't get to see this case to the State Supreme Court because the trial court declined to rule on the constitutionality of the statute. However, our client prevailed in that declining to rule, the court prevented the grandparent from obtaining a court ordered visitation schedule.
I was selected to do an internship with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida. Although I assisted with appeals; my main focus and experience was criminal prosecution and multi-million dollar government defense cases.
During my last semester, I worked cases in the Family and Child Advocacy Clinic. Although I worked many typical family law cases, I found myself specializing in education law. I represented children and their families against schools who failed to provide adequate accommodations under the I.D.E.A. and the Rehabilitation Act. My eyes were opened to both the determination of these truly special children to succeed and the opposition of our public schools to willingly provide for their needs to ensure their success.
Additionally, I was also the first student in the history of the clinic to win a Supplemental Security Income case on behalf of their client.
Currently, I have accepted a Commission with the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General. I look forward to serving my country and the heroes that protect Her each and every day. I will officially "cross into the Blue" in late May, 2009. Following my training, I will be stationed at Beale Air Force Base, CA.
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