Kelsey VanOverloop is a lawyer with The Cochran Firm—Chicago representing clients in civil rights cases, criminal matters, wrongful death, auto accident litigation, and personal injury matters. She regularly appears in Illinois state and federal courts and ensures that her clients obtain positive results both inside and outside the courtroom. 

Before entering the private practice of law, Kelsey served for three years as a law clerk—first as a chambers clerk for the Hon. Stephen H. Glickman of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and then as a staff law clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In the latter capacity, Kelsey assisted all of the Seventh Circuit’s judges with deciding complex civil and criminal appeals. She was also selected to be a member of the court’s habeas corpus unit, evaluating post-conviction petitions for state and federal prisoners. 

Kelsey graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. During law school, she was a Refugee and Asylum law Fellow, working at the Toronto Refugee Law Office and the University of Cape Town’s Refugee Rights Clinic. At both organizations, Kelsey gained valuable litigation experience by representing asylum seekers at every stage of their immigration proceedings, from their first application through their final appeals. 

Kelsey is admitted to practice in Illinois, New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Northern District of Illinois, and the Central District of Illinois.

• Illinois State Bar Association

• J.D., The University of Michigan Law School, cum laude
• B.A., The University of Michigan