Rachael Hancock has joined the faculty of Akron Law as a full-time assistant professor of law.
Prior to joining Akron Law, Professor Hancock served as Senior Counsel in the employee benefits and litigation groups at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP in Akron. In this role, she advised employee benefit plan fiduciaries on compliance, administration, and litigation matters and litigated insurance coverage, ERISA, contract, and tort matters in state and federal court. She also negotiated settlements, advised clients on litigation exposure, and arbitrated breach of contract disputes.
Professor Hancock also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Bridget Meehan Brennan of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and clerked for the Honorable Noel L. Hillman of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Professor Hancock holds a B.A. with Distinction in French, International Studies, and Political Science from the University of Michigan and a J.D./LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from Cornell Law School. While at Cornell, she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Cornell International Law Journal. She is admitted to practice law in New York and Washington, D.C.
"We are thrilled to welcome Rachael Hancock to our faculty. Her years of hands-on litigation experience bring a real-world perspective to our classrooms, and her natural ability to connect with students makes her an exceptional teacher. Those same skills will translate beautifully to legal writing and our 1L curriculum. We couldn't be more excited for our students to learn from her," said Michael Gentithes, C. Blake McDowell, Jr. Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.