WashU Law is proud to welcome four new faculty members to the Legal Clinics, Laura Robb, Eric Conners, Kate Weaver, and Jake Villarreal.
Laura Robb, Supervising Attorney & Lecturer, Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic
Laura Robb joins WashU Law with a strong background in civil litigation and environmental advocacy. As Supervising Attorney and Lecturer, she will guide law and student consultants as they represent clients in matters involving environmental protection, environmental justice, and the remediation of harms caused by pollution, climate change, and urban decay across Missouri.
Prior to joining the clinic, she served as an Associate County Counselor for St. Louis County and as an Assistant Attorney General for Missouri. She also clerked for the Hon. Roger Wollman on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Robb earned her J.D. from WashU Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. She earned a master’s degree from Yale University, where her research focused on environmental policy and was partially funded by a Fulbright Scholarship. She established her academic foundation in environmental and civil engineering with an M.S. from Stanford University and B.S. from Duke University.
Eric Conners, Engineering & Science Post-doctoral Fellow
Eric Conners joins WashU Law as Engineering & Science Post-doctoral Fellow, where he provides scientific and technical expertise to clinic cases and mentors undergraduate student consultants.
Conners earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology from WashU, where his research explored bacteria that consume electricity to create bioplastics. He also worked as a Consultant and Project Manager with the Biotechnology and Life Sciences Advising Group, advising clients across biotech, telecommunications, academia, and insurance. His commitment to scientific communication and public engagement has earned him accolades including the Howard A. Schneiderman Fellowship and WashU’s Science Communication Credential.
Kate Weaver, Nimick Forbesway Foundation Legal Fellow
Kate Weaver joins WashU Law as the Nimick Forbesway Foundation Legal Fellow in the Immigration Law Clinic, which represents clients in immigration matters such as naturalization, adjustment of status, family-reunification, obtaining employment benefits, deportation defense, and applications for asylum.
Prior to joining the Immigration Law Clinic, Kate was an Immigrant Justice Corps fellow in Portland, Maine, where she represented low-income immigrants, including asylum seekers, survivors of domestic violence, and victims of crimes. She successfully litigated two asylum hearings in her two years there. In 2023, she graduated from Duke Law, where she directed the school’s student-run immigration pro bono organization, participated heavily in the Immigrant Rights Clinic, and volunteered for several pro bono projects serving immigrants in North Carolina. While in law school, she interned at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Georgia, representing detained immigrants seeking release, and at the Conseil d’Etat in France. Prior to law school, Kate engaged in several immigration research projects, on topics such as migrant family separations, perceptions of refugees, and the impact of the 1967 Refugee Protocol. Kate speaks English and French, and she is learning Spanish.
Jake Villarreal, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Staff Attorney Fellow
Jake Villarreal joins WashU Law as the Staff Attorney Fellow in the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, which represents low-income taxpayers in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Prior to joining the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, Jake was a Legal Research Fellow for the Digital Securities Initiative, where he researched the application of financial regulations to novel digital assets. He has previously worked as a staff attorney for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Supervision Division. Jake graduated from WashU Law in 2020, where he participated in the Lawyering Practice Externship and the First Amendment Clinic.
Together, Robb, Conners, Weaver, and Villarreal bring a wealth of legal, scientific, and advocacy expertise to WashU Law’s clinical programs, enhancing the ability to serve clients, advance justice, and provide students with a hands-on learning experience.
