The Center for Public Interest Law (CPIL) concluded its
second legal skills series of the academic year on March 16, 2015. Courtney Kelledes (JD ’13), staff attorney at
Cabrini Green Legal Aid, taught the four part series titled “Mitigating the Collateral Consequences of a
Criminal Record.” While a law student
at DePaul, Ms. Kelledes interned with CGLA's Criminal Records department and
organized CPIL's 7th Annual Symposium, Fighting the Stigma: Overcoming the
Barriers of a Criminal Record, in 2013.
This series was designed to give students an overview of the
collateral consequences of a criminal record, focusing the majority of the
series on examining legal routes to mitigating those effects for employment
purposes. Kelledes first focused on a
brief introduction of the effects of a criminal record, particularly the
prevalent use of background checks by employers. The series also highlighted
the various types of convictions that can be sealed or expunged and the
intricacies associated with taking steps to start those processes. Students in attendance also learned practical skills such as how to adequately read and identify important information on a client’s RAP
sheet and criminal disposition. The
series concluded with addressing other avenues to mitigating a criminal record,
such as petitioning for executive clemency, a health care worker waiver, or a
certificate of rehabilitation.
The series took place on four consecutive Mondays from
February 23 to March 16. Student who
attended all four sessions received a certificate of completion. CPIL offers three public interest legal
skills series each academic year.
CPIL will begin the third and final legal skills series of
the year on March 30, 2015. The final
skills series will be a five-session introduction to family law issues. The “Basics in Family Law” Legal Skills Series
will be taught by alum Candace Wayne.