Lecturer, Director of the Housing Justice Clinic
Biography
Rachel Tomlinson Dick joined the College of Law in 2022 as a Housing Justice Fellow, helping to develop and institute the Housing Justice Clinic in its inaugural year. In 2023, Rachel was named Director of the Housing Justice Clinic, which focuses on serving vulnerable Nebraska families facing housing-related legal issues.
Rachel earned her J.D. with highest distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law in May 2022, obtaining concentrations in Constitutional Law and Litigation. During law school, she provided over 200 hours of pro bono service to the Tenant Assistance Project, and served as a research assistant to Professor Ryan Sullivan, contributing to scholarship focused on landlord-tenant law in Nebraska. Rachel was also named the Theodore C. Sorensen Fellow, received the Woods & Aitken Outstanding Student Award, and served as member of the Nebraska Law Review. As a law student, Rachel presented at a White House and U.S. Department of Justice event focused on law schools’ contributions to eviction prevention work, and had the opportunity to argue an appeal on behalf of a Civil Clinic client in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court.
A Nebraska native, Rachel earned her B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies, Sociology, and French from University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2010. Before attending law school, her work primarily focused on music and community activism, including helping to start Omaha Girls Rock Camp, and co-founding a boutique, not-for-profit record label centered on combatting sexism in the music industry.
In her free time, Rachel enjoys playing guitar, doing crossword puzzles, working on craft projects, being outdoors, and spending time with her six-year-old daughter.
Courses
Housing Justice Clinic
Articles
Play Like a Girl: Bostock, Title IX’s Promise, and the Case for Transgender Inclusion in Sports, 101 Neb. L. Rev. 283 (2022)
Presentations
Tenant Assistance Project: Incorporating Limited-Scope Eviction Defense Work into an Existing Clinic Course or Pro Bono Program Midwest Clinical Legal Education Conference (with Ryan P. Sullivan and Alan Dugger) (October 2022).
Eviction Prevention Panel Iowa/Nebraska Homelessness Symposium (panelist) (July 2022).
Tenant Assistance Project to Increase Access to Justice White House and Department of Justice Eviction Prevention Convening with Law Schools (January 2022).
The Tenant Assistance Project and the Eviction Crisis in Nebraska Dish It Up (October 2021).
Other
Awards
Order of the Coif.
NSBA Rise Award (2022).
Student Award for Outstanding Impact through Bro Bono Service (2022).
Woods & Aitken Outstanding Student Award (2022).
CLEA Outstanding Clinic Student Award (2022).
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Student Luminary Award (2022).
Theodore C. Sorensen Fellowship (2021-2022).
Civil Clinic Student of the Year (2021-2022).
Education
- B.A., magna cum laude, University of Nebraska at Omaha (2010)
- J.D., with highest distinction, University of Nebraska College of Law (2022).