UIS Speaker Series presents "Hispanic Americans: Civil Rights, Social Justice and the Legal System - Where Policy Meets Practice"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series presents “Hispanic Americans: Civil Rights, Social Justice and the Legal System - Where Policy Meets Practice” as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. The featured speaker will be attorney Reggie Koch, managing partner of the Koch Law Firm of central Arkansas.

WHEN: Thursday, September 15, 2016, at 7 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: This talk will highlight societal and legal institutional challenges that are faced today by Hispanic Americans. By illustrating their plight and the successful litigation outcomes that can occur, this event hopes to build awareness to the struggles faced by at-risk populations in general, and Hispanic populations specifically.

A large part of Koch’s practice deals with employment discrimination, issues of social justice and civil rights. Koch and his staff also network with attorneys abroad, especially in Mexico, to ensure that their clients' interests and rights are protected internationally as well as domestically. Koch studied Spanish and International Studies prior to studying law at the William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock, Arkansas. He also studied at the University of Arizona at Tucson and the University of Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico. He was presented with the Marco Polo Award for Excellence in International Studies. His work experience includes a fourteen-year career in law enforcement and a position with the Secretary of Public Security in Jalisco, Mexico, where he studied Mexican culture and trained Mexican police officers.

This event is co-sponsored by the UIS Departments of Legal Studies and Public Administration. For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.