ELS & LURE Career Panel: Opportunities in Land Use & Environmental Law

Date: Oct 15, 2015
Timing: 2:30 to 3:30
Speakers : Keith Harley, William Kling, Jacob Karaca
Venue : 700

The Land Use & Real Estate Law Society and the Environmental Law Society are excited to announce an upcoming panel discussion event: “Opportunities in Land Use & Environmental Law” on  Wednesday October 15 from 2:30-3:30 pm in Room 700, lunch will be served. 


During the hour-long session, speakers will discuss their own interesting careers as well as opportunities at Chicago-Kent and in the Chicagoland region for students interested in Environmental or Land Use Law. Please see below for bios of our panel members.

Please RSVP here if you plan to attend, so we can get a headcount for ordering lunch. We hope that you can join us for this great event!

Our Speakers

Keith Harley, Director of the Chicago Environmental Law Clinic

Keith Harley is director of the Environmental Law Program, a collaboration between the Chicago Legal Clinic and Chicago-Kent College of Law. He received his B.A. from Moravian College in 1982, his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1985, and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent in 1988. Mr. Harley initiated the Chicago Legal Clinic’s Environmental Law Program in 1989, shortly after graduating from Chicago-Kent. Keith has represented clients in local, state and federal environmental actions for more than 20 years. He recently completed his fourth year as chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Environmental Law Committee. 

William Kling, Attorney, Public Policy Expert, & C-K Adjunct Professor 

William C. Kling is an attorney and public policy expert with over 20 years’ experience in the public and non-profit sectors. He currently has an appointment with the UIC School of Public Health, Health Policy and Administration division, where he teaches policy and leadership courses. Mr. Kling also serves as a senior research scientist for UIC, University of Illinois Extension, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Office of Sustainability. He received his BA degree in economics from the University of Colorado and his JD degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)-Chicago Kent College of Law with a Certificate in Environmental and Energy Law and Policy.

Jacob Karaca, Partner at Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins, LTD

Jacob Karaca graduated from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Romance Languages & Literature, with honors. He then graduated from Chicago Kent College of Law, with honors. Mr. Karaca also received a Litigation and Alternate Dispute Resolution certification from Kent. While at Kent, Mr. Karaca served as a board member for the Moot Court Honor Society and received the C.A.L.I. awards for the highest grades in Trial Advocacy and Antitrust. He is a member of the Illinois State and Chicago Bar Associations.

Mr. Karaca concentrates his practice on all aspects of litigation for municipalities, school districts, family law clients, and other private entities in a wide range of litigation. His public sector experience includes: Section 1983 federal claims (First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment issues) and other federal statutory cases (ADA, Title VII, RLUIPA, FOIA, CERCLA, etc.), historic building preservation (federal, state and local issues), religious land use cases, zoning appeals, writs of mandamus, Rule 137 sanctions, establishment clause cases, state constitutional issues, employment discrimination, state sunshine law claims, workers’ compensation claims, administrative review actions involving pension code and slip and fall cases, and breach of contract construction claims.