Rachel received her undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois University, with a B.A. in Political Science, and double minors in Philosophy and History. An accomplished writer, Rachel received the distinguished James R. Shirley award for her research on the Soviet Union.
After graduation, Rachel enrolled in Northern Illinois University’s College of Law, where she served as the Symposium Editor for the Northern Illinois University Law Review and as Clerk for Phi Alpha Delta’s Dooley Chapter. Her Law Review article, Battle for Baby: Proposed Legislation for Custody Battles over Frozen Pre-Embryos, was published in the Asia Pacific Health Law & Ethics Journal in 2016.
During law school, Rachel served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Judge Donald C. Hudson in the Illinois Appellate Court, Second District. Rachel researched case law and drafted judicial opinions on a variety of legal subjects, including armed robbery and criminal sentencing. Her experience as a judicial extern provided her with valuable training in legal writing and research.
Rachel joined the Law Offices of John J. Malm & Associates, P.C. as a law clerk in 2016 and continued working at the firm throughout the remainder of her law school tenure. She graduated with honors, earning her Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude, from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 2017, and joined the firm as an associate attorney.
Rachel has been active in the DuPage County Bar Association and has served as a member on the DCBA’s Civil Law committee and New Lawyers Division committee. She is currently the Vice Chair of the DCBA’s Personal Injury/Insurance Practice committee. As Vice Chair of the newly established Personal Injury/Insurance Practice committee, Rachel works with the committee and other personal injury attorneys to educate DCBA members on changes in the personal injury field through Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs. In addition to the many DCBA committees she serves on, Rachel is a member of the editorial board of the DCBA Brief, a journal published monthly by the DuPage County Bar Association.
In her free time, Rachel enjoys reading, crafting, and antiquing. She, along with her husband, Connor, enjoy raising and caring for their two dogs.