Lisa R. Avalos

Professor Avalos holds a Ph.D. in Sociology (Northwestern, 1995) as well as a J.D. from New York University School of Law (2006). After law school, Professor Avalos worked as an associate in the corporate departments of McDermott, Will & Emery (New York) and Neal, Gerber, & Eisenberg (Chicago). While at McDermott, she served on the Young Lawyers' Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and was active in the firm's pro bono program, successfully winning asylum for a client fleeing human rights abuses. At Neal Gerber, she was a member of the Diversity Committee and was a volunteer attorney with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. Prior to law school, Professor Avalos was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Grinnell College, specializing in inequalities of race, class and gender. Her publications include articles analyzing how women construct meaning around their abortion experiences. Professor Avalos returns to academia to teach legal research and writing, a course that allows her to integrate her law practice and teaching experience. Her research interests include gender, health and human rights.