Student finds path to LGBT advocacy through KU Law

Jake McMillian

Jake McMillian didn’t think Kansas was a progressive enough place to launch his career, but KU Law proved him wrong. Now, with a year of law school under his belt, he’s working and advocating for LGBT rights in Kansas City and has realized the importance of serving his own state.

“As I have watched the snowball of equality build rapidly in more progressive states, I have come to an important realization: As a lifelong citizen of Kansas, I owe a unique duty to the place that reared me,” he said. “Frankly, California already has enough advocates of its own, and Kansas remains in desperate need of talented and dedicated LGBT attorneys.”

This summer, McMillian interned with Hodges-Williams LLC, the only law firm in the Kansas City metro area with a specific focus on LGBT advocacy. As a native of Kansas City, Kan., and a graduate of nearby Ottawa University, McMillian was ready to move out of state for law school and pursue his goal of representing LGBT clients. But after applying to schools across the country and placing a seat deposit at a university in California, he realized it was possible to follow his dreams closer to home.

“Dean Freedman spent a great deal of energy telling me about the opportunities that would be available to me at KU, and ultimately convinced me to stay in my native Kansas for a bit longer,” he said. “It is a decision that I have never once regretted.”

After McMillian connected with Elizabeth Hodges-Williams, the founder and managing attorney at the firm where he interned, he accepted a position for the summer. From the beginning, he dove headfirst into challenging work that made a real impact in the community. He wrote memos, drafted briefs, spoke with clients, and even attended hearings. McMillian also worked on a defamation case against a multinational retailer, and every day in the office was different.

“Working with Elizabeth has been great because she feels comfortable letting me get my hands dirty and do important work – to be sure, I am not just a file clerk or a secretary,” he said. “Elizabeth and I both feel worthy of the challenges that await us in our home state and are committed to full LGBT equality in Kansas.”

With a shared drive to make a difference, McMillian and Hodges-Williams make a perfect team. And although McMillian has only worked at the firm for a short time, Hodges-Williams is already impressed with his work ethic and determination.

“I believe a strong sense of right and wrong is the most important attribute a person can possess and it is very important in the practice of law,” she said. “Jake has it and that was one of the first things I noticed about him. He also has passion for the client we are representing and that translates into a hardworking, go-getter attitude.”

McMillian, in turn, credits his success to the education he has received so far at KU Law – an education that almost didn’t materialize, but one that has sparked new opportunities in his home state.

“For so many reasons, I feel like KU has prepared me both for my work this summer and for the career I see myself in as a practicing attorney,” he said. “I couldn’t be more excited to see the direction that a KU degree will take me and the kinds of change that will be capable once I graduate.”

— Story by Sarah Shebek. McMillian is beginning his second year at KU Law, where he serves as a Student Ambassador. You can read more about him on his Student Ambassador Web page.

Why I Teach: Elinor Schroeder

Employment law touches everyone, and for Elinor Schroeder, it’s a topic that has propelled her through a distinguished career of teaching, mentoring, and research at KU Law.

“Employment law is a field that has just burst on the scene in the last 20 years or so and grown dynamically, so it’s been exciting to be a part of that,” she said.

As one of KU Law’s longest-tenured professors, it seems unimaginable that teaching was once on the backburner for Schroeder. Although she was interested in becoming a professor, as she made her way through law school at Michigan, she recognized the importance of practice experience in the classroom. She accepted a position at Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne in Kansas City, where she discovered her niche in employment law and happily practiced for three years – until a visit from Dean Martin Dickinson changed everything.

“He came to see me, and he asked me if I was interested in teaching as an adjunct,” she said. “I taught for two years, one course a year in the spring. It became increasingly more difficult to balance the pressures of practice with the time that teaching demanded, and I was about to tell the dean that I wouldn’t continue as an adjunct. And then at the end of the second year, the school had a vacancy on the faculty and they asked me to interview for it – I did, and they gave me an offer.”

It was a bit of a perfect storm. Schroeder had already established a field of interest, obtained the sought-after practice experience, and gained the opportunity to try her hand at teaching before committing to a full-time position. She enjoyed practice, but as she immersed herself in the academic world, the perks of a professorship drew her into a distinguished career.

“I like teaching because it gives you a chance to think in more depth about issues than you normally get to do in practice, where you’re driven by cases,” she said. “Also, I like the students here. We have great students. They’re enthusiastic, and they’re fun to teach, so I enjoy the classroom experience.”

Schroeder’s enjoyment of research and her students has led to major recognition over the course of her professorship. Less than 10 years after she started teaching at KU Law, the KU Commission on the Status of Women named her the outstanding woman teacher at KU and inducted her into the KU Women’s Hall of Fame. She also received the law school’s Immel Award for Teaching Excellence, and in 1999, KU Law named her the Paul E. Wilson Professor of Law in recognition of her outstanding scholarship. Part of her success stems from an ability to make the field of employment law relevant and timely for all of her students.

“Students will come up to me after class and say ‘You mean employees can or can’t do that?’ or, ‘My spouse or brother or sister is working at such and such a place, and the employer is doing this or that, and what should I do?’” she said. “Everyone has employment issues, wage and hour issues, leave of absence issues, or discrimination issues that have happened to them or to someone they know.”

Throughout her career, Schroeder has emphasized support and professionalism to her students – the world of law is relatively small, and graduates are likely to run into their former classmates as colleagues once they leave law school. Her students remember that advice, and many of them also remember Schroeder’s impact long after they leave the classroom.

“I took a labor law course, particularly an employment discrimination course from Elinor Schroeder, and for me it was like, “Ooh, this is it!” said Camille Hébert, the Carter C. Kissell Professor of Law at Ohio State University and a longstanding expert in the field of employment law. “Elinor is one of the most influential professors I had.”

For more information on Elinor Schroeder, visit her faculty profile page.