Founder & CEO | Joan D. Clay, Esq.

Since becoming a licensed attorney in 2004, Joan D. Clay has always found ways to give back to underserved or underrepresented people. She began a career in public interest law in 2015 when she accepted a position running a mortgage foreclosure clinic as a visiting professor at law school in New York. She returned to Chicago in 2018 and was committed to staying in public interest law because she saw the enormous need and she honestly enjoys using her law degree to help others. 

2020 and COVID 19 gave Ms. Clay time to reflect on whether her work was feeding her passion to be of service to others. The Village Legal and Community Project is the result of this reflection and Ms. Clay created a plan for an organization that addresses  basic needs in underserved communities: pro bono and sliding scale legal services, economic development and opportunities for youths to explore their options to break cycles.

Ms. Clay regularly speaks at events informing the public of their legal rights and options. As an educator she has taught and mentored adult learners and law students since 2005. 

Staff Attorney | Megan L. Darris, Esq.

Darris grew up in California, but she has lived in Chicago for most of her life. As a first-generation lawyer and daughter of veterans, Ms. Darris is passionate about issues impacting veterans and is dedicated to advancing racial equality and access to justice in our communities by protecting individual rights. She graduated from Florida State University with both a Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management and a Master of Public Administration. She went on to earn her Juris Doctorate from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2021 and was admitted to the Illinois Bar that same year. During law school, Ms. Darris served alongside the Center for Conflict Resolution as a mediator. She also clerked for a magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Early in her career, Ms. Darris focused on workers’ compensation law, before shifting her practice to public interest work.