Adrienne D. Mebane (LLM ’18), director of the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy, started her legal career as a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She has held numerous trial attorney positions and has tried numerous cases including homicide and sexual assault cases. In 2013, Mebane came to the School of Law as an adjunct in the Trial Practice Intensive course, and in 2017, she became associate director of the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy. Here, Mebane talks about why she became a lawyer, the best advice she’s received, and what the School of Law mission means to her.

When did you know you wanted to be a lawyer? What was your “a-ha” moment?

It wasn’t an “a-ha” moment but my need to make my grandmother proud. She was a very intelligent woman who had to leave high school to take care of her family. As a poor black woman in that era, continuing in school or higher education was almost impossible. She never said she wanted to be a lawyer, but I think she did. She always talked about the law and lawyers, and how lawyers could use the law to make things better for people. She would go to courthouses and watch trials. She had hoped my uncles would be lawyers, but that didn’t happen. As a young girl, I decided I would be the lawyer she wanted.

How has your previous work experience prepared you for this role?

I spent thirteen years in Cook County courtrooms trying anything from paternity cases to capital murder cases. I also held supervisor, upper management, and executive staff positions in governmental offices. These experiences prepared me for the numerous responsibilities of this job. I am an experienced litigator who also has management and leadership skills. This means I can teach trial practice while also managing the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy working with the many students, adjuncts, and guests who come through the center.

How has your previous work experience prepared you for this role?

I spent thirteen years in Cook County courtrooms trying anything from paternity cases to capital murder cases. I also held supervisor, upper management, and executive staff positions in governmental offices. These experiences prepared me for the numerous responsibilities of this job. I am an experienced litigator who also has management and leadership skills. This means I can teach trial practice while also managing the Dan K. Webb Center for Advocacy working with the many students, adjuncts, and guests who come through the center.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

In high school, Sister Diane told me, “The buck stops here.” She went on to tell me it was something Harry S. Truman said, and if I was going to be a leader, I needed to accept I was ultimately responsible for the success of my group. My school group was planning a fundraising dance, and some people in the group had not completed their assignments. I didn’t push them to do their assignments or do the assignments myself. I ignored that things were not getting done. As a teenager, I probably thought it would all work out. I didn’t consider the extra effort it takes to get things done. Sister Diane told me as a leader I had to figure out how to make my team work together and get the job done. This was my first lesson about leadership.

What are your biggest successes?

I have always thought my biggest success as a first-generation college and law school student was to finish school. My family didn’t have much money. They couldn’t give me any advice or understand what I was going through. I was poor, black, a woman, the first person to go to college, and the first person to go to law school. It was a struggle, but I succeeded. Of course, my family gave me the emotional support I needed to get through the really tough times.

What does Loyola's mission mean to you? 

Loyola’s mission always makes me think of my grandmother. Loyola Law is preparing its students to make things better for people and their communities. I can help prepare students who will go out in the world with my grandmother’s vision of making things better for people and their communities. –Kristi Turnbaugh (July 2024)