Pictured from left: Shaye Loughlin, executive director of DePaul's Center for Public Interest Law; Jennifer Rosato Perea, dean of DePaul University College of Law; Lark Mulligan, recipient of the Women's Bar Foundation scholarship; Sue (Lee) Pak, JD '16; and Terrie Sullivan, JD candidate '17.
DePaul
University College of Law student Lark
Mulligan is one of nine recipients this year to receive the
Women's Bar Foundation scholarship award. For over a half century,
the Women's Bar Foundation has provided scholarships to exceptional
female Illinois law students for their outstanding educational and
professional accomplishments, as well as their dedication to aiding
their communities. Winners were celebrated at a luncheon in
October, which also honored Andrea Zopp, deputy mayor of the city of
Chicago, for her professional and philanthropic achievements.
“I feel honored to receive
this award as a queer transgender woman, as a feminist and as a prison
abolition activist,” said Mulligan. “I want to be a lawyer because the U.S. is experiencing an urgent crisis of hyperpolicing and mass incarceration of poor people of color.”
As a prison abolitionist, Mulligan advocates on behalf of
“dismantling systems of incarceration, surveillance and policing”
and creating “a world that has no need for prisons or police by
addressing the root causes of violence, inequality and oppression in
our communities.” She promotes alternative solutions such as community-building and empowerment, reparations, healing and
restorative practices, open dialogue, accessible and affordable
healthcare and food justice.
Mulligan also performs as a collective member and board member with the
Transformative Justice Law Project of
Illinois. Founded in 2008, this group provides legal services to
low-income transgender and gender nonconforming people. With this
organization, she drafted “Transgender 101 for Judges in the
Civil Division,” which has educated judges about gender identity
and the importance of allowing transgender persons to change their
names as a crucial step in claiming their true identity. Since 2010,
its Name Change Mobilization project has enabled more than 500
transgender people to change their name. She has filed grievances
with Cook County Jail on behalf of transgender individuals who face rampant abuse at its institutions and cocreated a re-entry
support program for transgender women following their released from
prison. She also publishes the 'zine Hidden Expressions,' which
features the writing, artwork and guidance of transgender prisoners.
Along with her responsibilities at the Transformative Law Project of
Illinois, she interns at Cabrini Green Legal Aid where
she handles criminal records relief, such as expungement and
clemency, and performs criminal defense.
After law school, Mulligan plans to
continue providing holistic legal guidance to criminalized
transgender people in Chicago. Other
accolades Mulligan has earned include winning the Pro
Bono Publico Award in 2015 and being named one of the Windy City
Times' 30 Under 30 in 2013.