Renee Hatcher is a human rights and community development lawyer. She is an Assistant Professor of Law and the Director of the Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic at UIC John Marshall Law School-Chicago. Prior to joining UIC John Marshall Law School, Hatcher taught in the Community Development Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law and served a post-doctoral appointment at the University of Texas-Austin’s Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis. Previously, Professor Hatcher served as a staff attorney and project director for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (CLC), where she directed a community development law project providing legal services to entrepreneurs, community-based organizations, and individuals interested in expunging their criminal history to create better opportunities for local marginalized communities. During her time at CLC, Hatcher also served as lead counsel on community benefit agreement campaigns and matters of regional equity, and represented individuals in matters of employment discrimination and prisoners’ rights in the U.S. Northern District Court of Illinois.

Hatcher currently serves as a board member for the New Economy Coalition, co-chair of the AALS Clinicians of Color Subcommittee, and a member of the Law for Black Lives Clinic Cohort Development Team. She received her law degree from New York University School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science from Indiana University-Bloomington. Her work and research focus on solidarity economy theory/practice and the law.