Executive Board

In 2006, Brian Langs graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Arts in English.  Following his undergraduate work, he accepted a position at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP as a legal assistant in the Intellectual Property Department. He worked at Kirkland & Ellis until he decided to enroll at Chicago-Kent College of Law in fall of 2008. During the spring of his first year, Brian served as a law clerk in the narcotics bureau at the Cook County States Attorney’s Office. That following summer he studied international business organizations and global employment law in Prague, Czech Republic through DePaul University College of Law. He earned a CALI award for the highest exam grade in international business organizations. In the fall of 2009, Brian became a Lexis Nexis Associate at Chicago-Kent and also served as research assistant to Professor Bartram Brown. As a research assistant, Brian edited articles for publication in a handbook on international human rights. The book mainly discussed international human rights law and the systems currently in place to hold large scale human rights violators accountable in the international arena. In the spring of 2010, Brian externed for United States Magistrate Judge Michael Mason in the Northern District of Illinois. Finally, this past summer, Brian worked as a law clerk in the civil litigation department at Wiedner & McAuliffe, Ltd. Currently, Brian continues to work as a law clerk at Wiedner & McAuliffe and also as Lexis Nexis Associate at Chicago-Kent. When Brian is not working on upcoming issues of the Chicago-Kent Law Review, in his spare time, he enjoys traveling and athletic competition.

Laura Raatjes graduated with distinction from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 2006 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Secondary Education. Between college and law school, she taught high school English in central Illinois. The summer prior to law school, Laura researched family law and constitutional law issues for Chicago-Kent Professor Katharine Baker.

While at Chicago-Kent, Laura has externed for two judges, Honorable Raul Vega, a domestic relations division judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, and Honorable Arlander Keys of the United States Magistrate Court, Northern District of Illinois. She also worked with Dean Harold Krent on researching and writing an amicus brief for the United States Supreme Court case, Alvarez v. Smith. In her free time, Laura enjoys vegetarian cooking, running, and spending time with her family and friends.

A native of the Chicagoland area, Andrew Jung attended college at the University of North Texas. After initially studying guitar performance in UNT’s famed Jazz Studies program, Andrew graduated summa cum laude from UNT’s Honors College with a BA in interdisciplinary studies and a minor in music. After college Andrew worked as a litigation paralegal for a large national bank. While at Chicago-Kent, Andrew has completed a judicial externship for Hon. George W. Lindberg, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, and worked for Chicago-Kent’s Center for Open Government. This past summer, he worked in-house at Allstate Insurance Corporation. In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar, cooking, golf, and spending time with his wife and two dogs.

Margaux Birdsall is a 3L planning on practicing patent and FDA law and is completing the IP certificate program. She went Tufts University for undergrad and majored in biology and minored in drama. She currently works for Amin Talati on FDA/FTC matters and she externed last year with Judge Toomin at the Illinois State Appellate Court, First District. She spends her spare time reading, running, and taking care of her many plants and fish.

A native of Hendersonville, North Carolina, Nick Cordell attended the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science and French in 2007. Nick worked for UNC’s Information Technology department after graduation, and remains employed with them as a web developer. Nick has completed externships at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, the Department of Homeland Security office of Citizenship and Immigration Services, and most recently, the Department of Justice program at Chicago Immigration Court. Last year, as a member of Moot Court Honor Society, he finished as a quarterfinalist in the National Moot Court Competition in Child Welfare & Adoption Law. Nick is currently training for his second marathon and enjoys homebrew, computer programming, and travel.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Greg Grattan attended the University of Georgia, where he graduated with a B.A. in economics in 2005. Prior to law school, he worked for a residential homebuilder, then as a manager in a bicycle shop. He moved to Chicago in August 2008 to attend law school. During the summer following his first year, he served as a judicial extern for Judge James Egan of the Circuit Court of Cook County. He then served as a judicial extern for Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys of the Northern District of Illinois during his second year. He has earned CALI awards in Torts and Professional Responsibility. Currently, Greg works as a law clerk for Fiedler & Nathanson, Ltd. In his free time, Greg enjoys endurance sports—he bicycled across the United States during the summer of 2005, and he is currently training for the Chicago marathon.

Stephen J. Gorski graduated cum laude from Lake Forest College in 2006 with a B.A. and honors in Philosophy. While his studies covered a broad range of philosophic disciplines, Stephen mainly studied existential philosophy, art theory, and political philosophy. During his time at Lake Forest, Stephen was both a Richter Scholar and a tutor for the Department of Philosophy.

Shortly after graduating from Lake Forest, Stephen began his legal career as a docket clerk at a consumer protection firm. After being promoted to a paralegal position, Stephen helped attorneys prosecute sub-prime mortgage lawsuits, and claims brought pursuant the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Because of the nature of these lawsuits, Stephen gained a great deal of experience in federal class-action litigation.

Stephen has also worked at Chicago-Kent’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. He also worked as a judicial extern for the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, in the chambers of Justice Robert Cahill. Recently, Stephen worked as an extern in the Chicago Transit Authority’s Law Department.

Stephen’s legal interests include cultural property, tax, and torts. In his free time, Stephen enjoys composing music, bicycling, and reading. Stephen is also an avid fan of the hit 80’s television show MacGyver.

A native of the Kansas City area, Katie Jahnke graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.A. in Political Science and English in December 2007. Katie spent the summer after her 1L year interning at the Women’s Legal Centre in Cape Town, South Africa and working as a research assistant for Professor Sarah Harding. During her second year at Kent, she externed for the Honorable Samuel Der-Yeghiayan in the Northern District of Illinois, interned in the Kent legal clinic, and was a teaching assistant for Professor Gary Laser’s Civil Procedure I class. This last summer, she was a summer associate at DLA Piper’s Chicago office. She enjoys travelling, reading, and spending time with her seven siblings and ten (soon to be eleven) nieces and nephews.

Melissa Smith is in her final year as an evening student at Chicago-Kent and has over ten years of professional experience, including over four years with Winston & Strawn’s paralegal department. At Winston & Strawn, Melissa oversaw the firm’s involvement with The Innocence Project, one of the largest pro bono projects in the firm’s history. Her work earned her a Pro Bono Commitment to Service Award, generally only awarded to attorneys. Melissa has also earned several awards for her academic achievements, including CALI awards in two legal writing classes and first and second place in the National Nonsmokers’ Rights Legal Research and Advocacy Competition.

While at Chicago-Kent, Melissa has served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Amy J. St. Eve of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She was also a teaching assistant for Professor Christopher Seaman’s Legal Writing 1 and 2 classes. Most recently, Melissa completed a summer internship with the City of Chicago Law Department, where she focused on her main interest–employment litigation. In fall 2010, Melissa will intern with the U.S. Attorneys’ Office.

Melissa graduated with a B.A. from Roosevelt University, where she double-majored in sociology and psychology. While attending Roosevelt full-time, Melissa also balanced a full-time job. Melissa spends much of her free time running and is currently training for her fifth marathon.

Tanya Solis is in her third and final year at Chicago-Kent, and her main areas of interest are corporate and intellectual property law. In addition to her Law Review responsibilities, she serves as the Executive Editor for the Seventh Circuit Review, an online journal published by students in the Seventh Circuit Review Honors Seminar. She currently works as a law clerk at a small commercial and real estate firm in Chicago and has completed externships at DLA Piper’s Corporate and Finance Group, Accenture’s Legal Group, and the chambers of Magistrate Judge Martin C. Ashman in the Northern District of Illinois.

Tanya was born and raised in the Philippines and is a former resident of El Paso, Texas. She received her Honors Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Toronto, where she was a member of Golden Key International Honor Society and Alpha Gamma Delta Women’s Fraternity. Outside of law-related endeavors, she may be found working out, cooking, singing, watching movies, or running away to Northern Virginia or Canada.

Jerry Thomas is a native of the Carolinas. He has over 15 years of experience in the public and private sectors, including teaching government and politics at Eastern Kentucky University. He completed his PhD in political science from the University of Kentucky in May 2010. His dissertation examines judicial behavior in the U.S. Courts of Appeals when federal agency decisions are under review. Generally, his research focuses on law and politics in the federal courts, with special emphasis on quantitative measures. He has a Masters’ degree in public administration from the University of South Carolina. Jerry is interested in administrative law, as well as the law and politics of gender and sexuality.

Jerry is a news junkie and also enjoys gaming (Xbox, board games), hosting dinner parties, frolicking on the beach, and visiting contemporary art museums. His favorite artists include Jean-Paul Riopelle, Annie Leibovitz, and Mark Rothko. He is an avid film watcher. Among his favorite films are The Color Purple, Brokeback Mountain, Shawshank Redemption, and Shortbus. He is particularly fond of films by French filmmaker, Catherine Briellat. The best musical artists of all time, in his humble opinion, include REM, Barbara Mandrell, Nina Simone, and Simon & Garfunkel. Food: quiche is good; sushi is not.

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Stephanie Thommes attended the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where she graduated with a B.A. in International Studies, Latin American Studies, and Spanish in 2005. She then attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she graduated with a M.S. in Criminal Justice in 2008. While at Chicago-Kent, Stephanie has completed judicial externships for the Chicago Immigration Court and for Judge Lee Preston of the Circuit Court of Cook County. This past summer, she participated in the Department of Justice Summer Law Intern Program at the Chicago Immigration Court. In addition to being a member of the Chicago-Kent Law Review, Stephanie was invited to join the Moot Court Honor Society, and her team was a Regional Semifinalist at the 2009-2010 ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition. Stephanie is also a Legal Writing Teaching Assistant for Professor Susan Adams. Stephanie enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her cat.