Crystal Kuruvilla holds many titles, with health law fellow, registered nurse, and aspiring medical malpractice attorney as only a few on the list. Following her undergraduate education, Crystal worked as a registered nurse before pursuing a juris doctorate degree from DePaul University College of Law. Her experience working within the healthcare field pushed her to pursue a career in medical malpractice litigation. While at DePaul, Crystal involved herself with the Mary and Michael Jaharis Health Law Institute and gained experience working for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Crystal has focused her legal education on medical malpractice litigation, and she thanks her first year Civil Procedure class for providing a solid foundation for her to build from. While dubbed her most challenging course, Civil Procedure helped Crystal find her passion for litigation. She believes the vast array of fundamental and interesting courses offered by DePaul helped prepare for her practice in Health Law. Additionally, she thoroughly enjoyed and recommends the Food and Drug Law course to any Health Law student.
While Crystal focused primarily on Health Law, she urges all law students to get involved in work, extracurricular organizations, and study abroad as soon as possible. During her time at DePaul, Crystal participated in a university trip to Cuba, but if she could do one thing over from law school, she would participate in additional study abroad opportunities. When looking for experience, she advises students to look at all available options and do plenty of research before committing to a position. Crystal proudly believes that, “while a firm or organization has the opportunity to choose you, you can also choose them. If you aren’t happy where are you, find something more in line with your goals”. Further, she suggests taking advantage of the many resources and dedicated professors available while at DePaul.
As Crystal’s time as a Health Law student is coming to an end, she remains excited for the new experiences that lie ahead. She plans to take the July Bar exam followed by a celebratory trip to Europe with her close friends. After her European excursion, Crystal will continue working for Patton and Ryan LLC.