“Joan Clay brings a wealth of practical knowledge as well as teaching experience to Touro Law Center. She is a welcome addition to our clinical team,” said Dean Salkin

She will be teaching, supervising and mentoring students in the Mortgage Foreclosure Clinic as they provide representation to Suffolk County homeowners facing foreclosure of their primary residences.      

For nearly a decade, Clay was a partner in her Chicago law firm and specialized in Business and Real Estate Law. She also taught as an adjunct in the areas of Business, Civil Procedure, and Criminal Law at MacCormac College in Illinois. She is an accomplished litigator who has cultivated long-lasting client relations during her time in practice. Clay has also made significant contributions to the Chicago community by volunteering her time at the First Defense Legal Aid hotline and Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. Since 2005, Clay has litigated, mediated and arbitrated building code violations, mortgage fraud, and foreclosure matters; such as modifications, short sales, and deeds in lieu of foreclosure. She is admitted to the Bar in Illinois and New York. She received her B.A. in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism from Loyola University of Chicago.  She earned her J.D. at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. 

Touro Law is one of a few law schools nation-wide that guarantees every student a clinic and externship experience for academic credit. We now offer twelve distinct clinics (in areas including: immigration, family law, disaster law, criminal law, business and nonprofit law, elder law, bankruptcy, mortgage foreclosure). Clinics are open to all students beginning in their second year, affording students an opportunity to represent actual clients with real legal problems and to work with experienced attorney-professors. Under the close supervision of faculty, clinic students advise clients and appear on their behalf in court or at administrative hearings.