Fall 2026 Winner of the Legal Leaders Scholarship

Valeria Portillo

Valeria has been awarded the $1,000 Legal Leaders Scholarship. A student at Chicago-Kent College of Law, Valerias experience working with the 19th Judicial Circuit Court and Lake County Health Department inspired her devotion to public service and justice accessibility.

Read Their Essay Here:

My background is defined by navigating two vastly different versions of the same country. I learned at a young age how access, or the lack of it, shapes opportunity. I am a first-generation Mexican-American raised by a single, Spanish-speaking immigrant mother. Her limited access to legal and institutional resources profoundly shaped our lives. When my parents separated during my fifth-grade year, I moved from a middle-income community into a school system marked by scarcity. I went from new textbooks and personal lockers to outdated materials and shared spaces. I also went from scholastic book fairs to donated books in plastic bags. That year, I wrote a promotion essay describing my experience of living behind plexiglass, able to see opportunity clearly, yet struggling to reach it. I did not yet have the language to describe inequity, but I was living it. Those early experiences taught me resilience and self-advocacy.

My commitment to the legal field was shaped long before I stepped into a courthouse. As a child, I translated leases, medical documents, and school forms for my mother. I was unaware of the legal consequences behind the words I interpreted. I learned early how language barriers can silence people within systems meant to protect them. The most defining moment came during my mothers custody battle. She entered court at a disadvantage due to limited English proficiency and minimal legal guidance. She ultimately lost meaningful access and time with my younger brother, not because she was unfit, but because she was unheard. Watching the law decide the course of our lives without my mother truly being able to participate revealed how deeply access determines justice.

Today, I see my childhood reflected in my work as a Felony Judicial Assistant in the 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois. I support judges in managing complex felony calendars, trial calls, and specialty court proceedings. I also serve as a bridge between judges, attorneys, probation officers, victims families, and the public. I assist Spanish-speaking litigants struggling to understand court procedures and guide victims families through emotionally charged proceedings. I witness firsthand how procedural complexity can become a barrier to justice. What began as administrative work revealed itself as the unseen architecture of the legal system, the framework that determines whether fairness is accessible or out of reach. Working here, I have realized my purpose is not only to support the legal process from behind the scenes but also to step forward as an advocate within it.

My career goal is to become an attorney dedicated to advancing access to justice for individuals and families blocked by language, financial, or informational barriers. The Lucas Law Legal Leaders Scholarship would ease the financial burden of my education and allow me to focus fully on developing the skills necessary to serve others effectively. More importantly, this scholarship represents a belief in students like me, those who aspire to excel within the legal community. I have learned to navigate systems that were never designed with families like mine in mind. I am committed to reshaping those systems from within. I will continue to pursue a future in which justice is not a privilege but a promise. In that future, first-generation students like myself will help build a better tomorrow for the communities that raised us. With the scholarship's support, I will carry on my family's sacrifices. I will transform resilience into representation and prove that being the first does not mean being alone, but rather being the beginning of lasting change.