Rachel Settlage

• Biography

  Rachel Settlage is associate dean for academic affairs at Wayne Law. She previously was the director of clinical education from 2017 until her appointment to associate dean in 2021. Settlage is the founder and former director of Wayne Law’s Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic. From 2007-09, she was a clinical fellow with the University of Baltimore School of Law’s Immigrant Rights Clinic. She also has practiced law at the Asylum Program of Southern Arizona; served as a senior researcher at the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian; and served as a foreign affairs officer/senior editor at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
  
  Settlage earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, M.S.F.S. from Georgetown University, and bachelor’s from the University of California, Berkeley. Her publications are in the areas of immigration and human rights law.

• Degrees and Certifications

  J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
  M.S.F.S., Georgetown University
  B.A., University of California, Berkeley

• Social Science Research Network
  View SSRN Profile
• Books
  

  Immigration Relief: Legal Assistance for Noncitizen Crime Victims (American Bar Association) 2014 with Elizabeth Campbell and Veronica Thronson

  A significant part of the challenge of assisting immigrant victims of crime is gaining a command of the myriad statutes, regulations and agency guidance that this area of the law comprises. This essential resource synthesizes, explains and guides the reader through all of the crucial components of this area of the law.

  In addition to explaining the law, this book provides invaluable practice tools such as:

  • Definitions of key terms and concepts
  • Charts explaining the organization of the various agencies and departments involved in the adjudication of applications for immigration relief
  • Helpful checklists to ensure that the final applications for relief are complete
  • Lists of additional resources for attorneys
  • And more

  Whether you are a new or experienced attorney, a legal assistant, a social worker, a law enforcement officer, a prosecutor, a judge, or anyone else who interacts with immigrant victims of crime, this book is an invaluable resource. Its careful organization, thorough explanations and clear presentation demystify the daunting array of immigration statutes, cases, regulations, practice manuals and policy memoranda that govern the adjudication of applications for immigration relief for immigrant victims of crime. It is an essential tool for anyone who works with this most vulnerable population of noncitizens.

   

• Accomplishments
  • Rachel Settlage spoke at Nickelhoof & Widick, PLLC’s ethics workshop for government attorneys on Oct. 16. 
  • Rachel Settlagewas featured in a Wayne State University newsroom story, “Wayne Law professor making a stage name for herself.”
  • Rachel Settlageco-led with Rebecca Robichaud a session at the 2018 Midwest Clinical Legal Education Conference on Oct. 6. The session was called, “Clinic and Externship Collaboration: Infrastructure for a Successful Experiential Education Program.”
  • Rachel Settlageco-lead a breakout session with Sabrina Balgamwalla about “Teaching During Divisive Times” at the Immigration Law Scholars and Teachers Workshop 2018 at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
  • Rachel Settlagepresented at the 41st Annual Conference on Clinical Legal Education in Chicago. She discussed “With a Little Help from My Friends: Managing Stress in a Hostile Political Environment with Assistance from Non-Lawyers.”
• Recent courses taught

  Fall Term 2024 (current)

  • LEX7419 - Interviewing and Counseling

  Fall Term 2022

  • LEX8995 - Capstone Experience

  Spring-Summer Term 2022

  • LEX8995 - Capstone Experience