Danielle McCain

BOARD MEMBER

Danielle McCain is a board member of the Black Researchers Collective, an attorney, historian, and writer. She serves as the Director of the Writing Resource Center at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Law School and is an Adjunct Professor. Prior to transitioning to academia, Danielle was in private practice for more than sixteen years, as a civil rights lawyer and social justice advocate, working at law firms and nonprofit organizations. Danielle was a 2019 Chicago United for Equity (CUE) Fellow and from that experience, retooled her approach to fighting for the historically underrepresented individuals and communities. With visionary leadership and her trademark versatility, Danielle strategically navigates places and spaces with the imperative of leaving them more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just. 

Her scholarly interests are fair housing and housing justice, racial equity, and legal drafting. She served as Assistant Editor for volume 25 of the Journal of the Legal Writing Institute. Danielle published a short article, Embracing a Continuous Improvement Mindset in Student Drafting through the Development of Writing Samples (Second Draft, vol. 34, no. 2, fall 2021) (peer reviewed) and has a second article in progress on subsidy reliance and Black women. Danielle also served as a member of the research team for the IAALS, which published the report Building a Better Bar: The Twelve Building Blocks of Minimum Competence. This report is being used by law schools, law firms, and bar associations across the country. Danielle holds a Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law. She received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Spelman College.