Julie Cortes

Title: Assistant Clinical Professor, Director SEED Clinic
Office: Room 314 C. Blake McDowell Law Building
Phone: 330-972-6827
Email: jcortes@uakron.edu

Biography

Julie C. Cortes is the Assistant Clinical Professor and Director of the Small Entrepreneur and Economic Development (SEED) Clinic.  Prior to joining Akron Law, Professor Cortes served as a Supervising Attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland focusing her practice on the representation of and advocacy for low-wage workers and the re-entry community.  As more of her clients abandoned traditional employment due to insurmountable barriers, Professor Cortes saw the opportunity to promote entrepreneurship and small business ownership as a pathway out of poverty, which culminated in her participation in the Innovation Mission Fellowship through the Sisters of Charity Foundation, and the creation of the Legal Center for Low-Income Entrepreneurs at Legal Aid.  Professor Cortes joined the Akron Law faculty in 2022, bringing her unique expertise to the SEED Clinic.  She received her B.A. from Cleveland State University and her J.D. from Cleveland Marshall College of Law.