Emily Coffey joined Chicago Lawyers’ Committee in July 2022. As Senior Counsel and Director of Equitable Community Development and Housing, she advances systems change through community driven advocacy and impact litigation. Prior to joining Chicago Lawyers’ Committee, she was a Housing Justice Attorney at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law where she advocated for tenants’ rights, fair housing, and affordable housing preservation through group representation and policy advocacy.

Emily served as counsel in several high-impact cases and HUD fair housing complaints, including Calumet Lives Matter v. East Chicago Housing Authority, Jane Addams Senior Caucus v. Chicago Housing Authority, and HOPE Fair Housing Center v. City of Peoria. She is a coauthor of Poisonous Homes: The Fight for Environmental Justice in Federally Assisted Housing and several other publications.

Prior to the Shriver Center, Emily represented tenants facing eviction at Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing and coordinated an emergency rental assistance program at CARPLS. She was awarded the inaugural Sharon L. King Award from Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing and the Outstanding Legal Fellow Award from the National Alliance of HUD Tenants. Emily is an alumni of the Racial Justice Institute and Impact Fund Class Action Training Institute. She graduated with honors from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Beloit College.

Pronouns: she/her/hers

You can reach Emily Coffey at ecoffey@clccrul.org.