معرفی
Yulanda Curtis is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Education at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she also serves as Director of the Veterans Legal Clinic. She joined the University of Illinois College of Law in 2018 to establish the Veterans Legal Clinic, which provides free civil legal assistance to veterans and their family members throughout central Illinois.
Professor Curtis earned her JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she participated in the Legal Aid Practicum, and her undergraduate degree in Business Administration with distinction from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
Her professional focus centers on veterans' legal issues, including civil legal needs in family law, expungements, consumer disputes, estate planning, and service-related matters like discharge upgrades. Professor Curtis has a personal connection to the military community, with both parents being veterans - her mother retired from the Army after 20 years of service and her father served in the Army Reserves. She previously taught at the University of Michigan Veterans Legal Clinic as a clinical fellow and worked as an Associate Counsel for the Board of Veterans Appeals, where she advocated for improved training consistency across the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- OpEd Project/Public Voices Fellowship (2025-26)
Professor Curtis supervises student clinicians who provide legal representation while collaborating with local veteran service organizations and social work professionals to holistically address clients' needs. She emphasizes that 'Most veterans under 40 have an immediate family member who served. That's especially striking considering that some statistics suggest fewer than 1% of Americans have any military service time. We are increasingly becoming a society where some families bear a disproportionate responsibility for defending our country.' Her students consistently report transformative professional growth through their clinic experiences working with veterans.
The Veterans Legal Clinic operates in partnership with community resources including the Chez Center for student veterans, the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network, and Illinois Joining Forces to provide comprehensive support to veterans seeking civil legal assistance.
