Tara Kennedy Email & Phone Number

Chicago

• Represent City of Chicago in full range of appellate litigation in Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and Illinois Appellate Court.

Chicago, Illinois

• Wrote bench memoranda and assisted all judges in the preparation of opinions and non-precedential orders in variety of civil and criminal appeals.
• Made oral and written presentations with recommended disposition of hundreds of non-routine and dispositive motions, as member of motions team for one year.

Chicago, Illinois

• Represented City of Chicago in state and federal civil litigation, including cases under the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments, and Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
• Drafted answers, settlement agreements, and dispositive and routine motions, including several successful motions to dismiss in federal and state court and a federal summary judgment motion.
• Managed all aspects of discovery, including conducting and defending depositions, witness preparation, written discovery, document collection and production, creating privilege logs, and motion practice.

Chicago, Illinois

• Wrote and researched bench memoranda on fully briefed motions and assisted in drafting opinions.
• Observed daily court calls, motions arguments, bench trials, and settlement conferences.
• Acted as contact for attorneys, provided guidance on drafting orders following statuses and hearings, and managed case files and administrative work in chambers.

Chicago, Illinois

• Managed and prepared court documents and client discovery documents for Federal Employers Liability Act, personal injury, and employment discrimination cases

Chicago, Illinois

• Performed legal research and reviewed case files
• Wrote legal memoranda and initial drafts of federal district court opinions
• Observed weekly court proceedings including trials and status hearings

Chicago, Illinois

• Conducted research to assist professor in drafting academic articles for publication

• Responsible for editing lead and student articles selected for publication in the DePaul Law Review Volume 63.
• Work with 2L staff members to edit their writing requirement articles and guide them in the cite checking process.

Chicago, Illinois

• Interviewed, hired and trained new undergraduate employees on a quarterly basis
• Managed 25 to 35 student employees, including final termination decisions and controlling salary increases
• Created, edited, and maintained calling campaign projects and formatted data
• Developed weekly trend analysis reports of office’s calling results and presented to clients utilizing Microsoft Access and Excel
• Facilitated quarterly evaluations of student supervising staff and staff meetings

Chicago, Illinois

• Mentored 1L legal writing students by holding office hours, conducting conferences, and providing individualized feedback on class work
• Lectured in-class on Bluebook citation, exam preparation, and various other topics and assisted the professor in research for class assignments.

Office Of Regional Counsel, Region V

• Conducted legal research and wrote legal memoranda to support enforcement cases brought under federal environmental statutes
• Attended negotiations and counseling sessions with EPA program offices
• Drafted enforcement documents such as consent decrees and administrative orders

Chicago, Illinois

• Assisted with fact investigation, legal research, and drafting of legal memoranda, consent orders, and pleadings
• Observed attorneys at the Daley Center and during negotiations with opposing counsel

Chicago, Illinois

• Assisted in researching, editing, and drafting opinions and memorandum for Judge Cudahy.

Chicago, Illinois

• Aided programming department with various daily tasks
• Maintained website and created new page features.
• Update comprehensive concert calendar on a weekly basis

Chicago, Illinois

• Checked for and communicated nightly errors to student employees and implemented incentives program to minimize errors
• Prepared nightly schedule of calls and monitored nightly office work flow

Chicago, Illinois

• Organized and managed nightly calling sessions
• Conducted telephone surveys, thus developing customer service and professional communication skills

Chicago, Illinois

• Marketed and distributed marketing materials, arranged articles with local niche press through phone pitches and discussions as well as emailing information and potential story ideas

Juris Doctor, Summa Cum Laude & Order Of The Coif, Class Rank: 1St In Evening Section, Top 5% Overall

Journal: DePaul Law Review: Editor of Articles, Notes and Comments & Staff Member Honors: Recipient of 13 CALI Awards for highest grade in.

Ba, Media/ Cinema Studies, Spanish, Digital Cinema

Activities and Societies: Graduated Summa Cum Laude; Recipient, Arthur J. Schmitt Academic Scholarship, September 2005-June 2009; Deans.

Spanish

Education record