Erica Zunkel is a Clinical Professor of Law and directs the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. Under Professor Zunkel’s supervision, law students provide pro bono representation to individuals in criminal trial courts, on appeal, and in post-conviction proceedings. Zunkel and her clinic students focus on advocating for young people. Before entering academia, Zunkel was a federal public defender in San Diego, California and a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Martha Vázquez in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She received her B.A. from Cornell University and her J.D. from the University of California-Berkeley School of Law.