McHenry County attorney says finding her way to teaching was ‘kismet’

Robin Berry spent much of her law career defending juveniles who found themselves in trouble, as well as those who were victims of abuse and neglect.

She uses those real-life scenarios from the courtroom in the classroom as a teacher and full-time department chair and instructor of paralegal studies at McHenry County College.

“It was kismet,” she said of making her way to the classroom.

Berry initially was licensed to practice law in her home state of Texas in 1991. She moved with her husband to Cary in 2008, and while waiting to be licensed to practice law in Illinois, she began teaching business law at MCC.

The spark to teach was first lit while in Texas, when she was asked to teach constitutional law at a police academy. At first, she said, she “was scared to death.”

But the fear quickly faded.

“When I walked into the classroom, it felt so comfortable, and when I started lecturing, I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is what I was meant to do,’” Berry recalled. “It felt so natural. I enjoyed it so much. I knew that is where my life would lead me – to teaching.”

Over time, MCC added more legal classes, and in 2015, the paralegal program was born. In 2021, Berry resigned from her full-time job as a special public defender in the McHenry County courthouse and was hired full time by the paralegal department. She closed out her last case in November.

Berry said a “paralegal is to an attorney what a nurse is to a doctor.” Students learn how to investigate; interpret the law; do research; write briefs; and handle witnesses, discovery, contract law, wills and trusts, and civil litigation.

“They learn why there are tags on hair dryers saying not to use to them in the bathtub,” she said with a laugh.

She teaches students that it is not so important to memorize the statutes as it is to know where to find the answers when needed.

Berry, a member of the Law Day Committee for the McHenry County Bar Association, helps organize and coach mock trials, and goes to grade school and high schools to talk to students about the law.

At MCC, she has grown the department’s intern program and has seen some of those interns secure jobs as paralegals or go on to law school, she said.

Ebelin Winters, 25, of McHenry, was an intern who earned an associate degree at MCC in the paralegal program. She now works as a paralegal for the local law firm where she interned.

Winters said Berry was “super helpful.”

“[Berry] being an attorney meant she gave us insights and tips that no other professor could give us if just teaching in the classroom,” said Winters, who is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “She gave real-life examples of what not to do and what to do. On top of that, the cherry on top of it all, is she is super enthusiastic.”

Berry said she uses her experiences from the courtroom as tools but never shares names of those involved.

“I tell them the good, bad and the ugly,” she said.

She also prepares students by telling them that they may be involved in some situations that are hard and that “they may never be able to get out of your mind.”

“There are certain cases where you don’t want to look at the pictures or hear the recordings because it is so horrific, but as a legal professional, that is the job,” Berry said. “You have to pull up your big girl pants and look and listen, especially when appointed to a case by a judge. … Then, we have to do our very best, regardless what we think about the crime or the person.”

Berry stresses the importance of treating every client with dignity and compassion.

“I tell my students when a client comes to us, it is the worst day of their life,” she said.

Once, she saw a woman at the courthouse alone and sobbing. Berry said she walked up to her and said, “I don’t know what you’re going through, or why you are here, and don’t want to know why. I just said, ‘You need a hug, and it is going to be OK.’”

The woman hugged back and said, ‘Thank you.’ Berry said she never saw her again and never learned why she was there and didn’t want to know.

“She might not have had anyone treat her that way,” she said.

Berry tells students that it is important to “let clients know they are people and they matter, regardless of what they might have been charged with.”

Berry, whose daughter Shelby Paige is a McHenry County assistant state’s attorney, said she invites adjunct professors to teach classes, including McHenry County Judge Kevin Costello, who taught civil litigation this year.

Costello, who presides over civil cases, and as a lawyer practiced civil litigation, said that he initially was reluctant to take on a class. Although he has lectured at seminars and taught continuing education for judges, this is the first time he formerly taught in a classroom.

He feared being met with “blank stares.” But he soon found a comfort level and found the experience “incredibly rewarding.”

Like Berry, he uses real-life courtroom scenarios to teach, including complex injury cases and messy divorces. In the latter, he had his wife play the part of the wife, and he played a “pompous, arrogant” husband, he said.

For extra credit, he asks students to watch law-related movies and write papers about them, including “Erin Brockovich” and “Dark Waters.” He chose these movies because they show how it is hard to win when someone doesn’t have a lot of money.

Costello said he has observed Berry teach and said she “is amazing and has a great rapport with the students.

“[MCC] built up the paralegal program in large part due to her,” Costello said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but [the students] were definitely well prepared, interested, engaged, and I think that’s a testament to Robin.”