Northern Illinois University
College of Law

Tracy Simmons teaches Legal Writing and Advocacy I and II and assists with the Academic Success Program. Before joining the faculty at NIU’s College of Law, she taught Legal Research and Writing and Civil Litigation at Wilbur Wright College and Social Work and the Law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She also served as a career advisor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. In addition to her experience in legal education, Professor Simmons worked as a legal content manager at Illinois Legal Aid Online, where she drafted and edited plain-language legal resources. Professor Simmons started her career as an Equal Justice Works Fellow and attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Columbus.

Professor Simmons is admitted to practice in Illinois. She is also a member of the Legal Writing Institute.

Publications

• Networking to Get (or Create) a Public Interest Job, Nat’l Ass’n for L. Placement Bull., Sept. 2010, at 20.
• Relinquishing Custody in Exchange for Mental Healthcare Services: Undermining the Adoption and Safe Families Act’s Promise of Reasonable Efforts Towards Family Preservation and Reunification, 10 J. L. & Stud. 377 (2008).
• Note, Mandatory Mediation: A Better Way to Address Status Offenses, 21 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. 1043 (2006).