Michael Drake joined Beyond Legal Aid as a Staff Attorney in November 2021. He primarily focuses on housing and employment law.

Michael graduated cum laude from University of Illinois Chicago School of Law in 2020 with a certificate in International Human Rights Law. At UIC Law, he was a member of the Trial Advocacy and Alternative Dispute Resolution Honors Council, Moot Court Honors Council, and a Staff Editor for The John Marshall Law Review. After graduating, Michael completed a fellowship with Legal Aid of Western Michigan where he defended tenants facing evictions and helped implement a rental assistance program. Before coming to Beyond, he spent a brief time in private practice. Michael is currently the Executive Editor of The Review, the National Lawyers Guild’s legal journal.

Prior to law school, Michael graduated from Illinois State University with a double major in Sociology and English. While in undergrad, he volunteered at United Way 211 where he helped connect people to social services and answered calls for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.