Inspiring grad: Jake Hulbert 

As Jake Hulbert prepares to graduate from the UIC School of Law on May 11, he’ll remember the moment he realized he’d made the right choice to attend UIC.

It was the second day of his orientation in 2022, when he met two other students who became friends. Over the years, they have become close as they’ve spent long nights studying together to prepare for exams and learning about the law.

“It made me realize that UIC was devoted to a sense of community through those friends, and the professors made me realize that UIC was both the right choice for me to grow professionally and personally,” Hulbert said.

Earning his law degree will fulfill a dream he first had in high school to become a lawyer, Hulbert said. He grew up in Morris, Illinois, a small town an hour outside of Chicago, where he did not feel comfortable being open about his sexuality. That changed when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that same-sex couples were guaranteed the right to marry. 

“That really made it clear for me that I wanted to stand up and advocate for disenfranchised people in a system that is supposed to be protecting those people,” Hulbert said. “Especially now, more than ever, where we’re seeing protections being rolled back continuously, I know I made the right choice.” 

At UIC, his professors have been “phenomenal,” helping him hone his legal skills by sharing real-world experiences that complement legal theory. 

He has volunteered with the UIC Fair Housing Legal Support Center and Clinic, which allowed him to focus on administrative law. That experience enhanced his previous work as a law clerk for several judges and the state appellate prosecutor’s office. With the fair housing clinic, he negotiated several settlements and helped draft a brief to the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the appellate court for administrative remedies in fair housing. 

“To be able to work with marginalized communities and people that don’t have the resources that I’ve had was extremely rewarding,” said Hulbert. 

He has served on UIC’s Law Review, where he is the executive production editor. He recently published a UIC Law Review piece that examined the history of housing discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, cited legal precedents and offered advice and resources for reporting discrimination. 

While he’s ready to receive his Juris Doctor degree, he will still be hitting the books to prepare for the Illinois Bar Exam this summer.  

He aims to pursue a career in appellate law, a path inspired by the Lawyering Skills III class he took with Adjunct Professor Lester Finkle. The class teaches students the basics of appellate brief writing and appellate oral advocacy. At UIC, Hulbert participated in moot court competitions that helped prepare him for the courtroom. Professor Hugh Mundy was the coach, and Finkle helped Hulbert and his team prepare for a competition in Brooklyn, New York. 

“He was the one who lit the fire in me to pursue a career in appellate law,” Hulbert said. 

Finkle said Hulbert is quietly confident and always thoroughly prepared, qualities required in the profession. 

“I see him bringing that professionalism, with its concomitant civility, to the bar once he is sworn in as an attorney,” Finkle said. “As an appellate attorney, he will be able to craft arguments that develop the law for prospective litigants and future cases.”