Curriculum Vitae
Biography
Jennifer J. Cook is an Assistant Professor of Law and teaches first year law students legal research, analyses, writing, and oral advocacy in the Lawyering Skills program. She also teaches upper-level law courses in Privacy Law and Social Justice Lawyering.
Professor Cook received her B.A. in Mass Communication with a minor in History from North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. She received her J.D. with distinction from the University of North Dakota School of Law. While in law school, she wrote for the North Dakota Law Review, was president of the Environmental Law Society, and a member of the Law Women’s Caucus and Delta Theta Phi.
After law school, Professor Cook worked as a judicial law clerk to Magistrate Judge Karen K. Klein of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. She then became the policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota (ACLU). While serving as the ACLU of North Dakota’s policy director, Professor Cook successfully lobbied the North Dakota legislature for stronger legal protections for juvenile and adult confidential informants, privacy safeguards related to unmanned aerial vehicles, and against infringements of the First Amendment rights to protest and freedom of religion.
Prior to her legal career, Professor Cook served in the Army National Guard for ten years. She attained the rank of First Lieutenant and commanded troops while deployed to Washington state during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Gender & the Law, Guest Lecturer, Frameworks & Issues: Women and Gender Studies, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN (April 2019).
Women’s Rights are Civil Rights, Panelist, Helen Hamilton Day, University of North Dakota School of Law, Grand Forks, ND (March 2019).
Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: Starting a Conversation with the Bench and Bar about What Legal Writing Means for the Practice of Law, Presenter, Legal Writing Institute One-Day Conference, Loyola University School of Law, New Orleans, LA (December 2018).
How a North Dakota School Prayer Bill Becomes a Law, Guest Lecturer, First Amendment Law, University of North Dakota School of Law, Grand Forks, ND (November 2018).
Title IX and Sexual Violence: Students’ Rights and University Obligations, Panelist, Law Women’s Caucus General Meeting, University of North Dakota School of Law, Grand Forks, ND (November 2018).
How to Access Human Rights in North Dakota & Minnesota, Panelist, North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival, The Human Family, Fargo, ND (November 2017).
Transgender Rights in the Workplace & Inclusive Best Practices for Employers, Presenter, Diversity Training Workshop for HR Professionals, Central Dakota Human Resources Association, Bismarck, ND (October 2017).
Know Your Rights: Racial Justice and the First Amendment, Presenter, Community Lunch & Learn Series, Honor the Earth, Bismarck, ND (September 2017).
Transgender People & The Healthcare System: Rights, Laws, and Policy, Panelist, Community Education Series, Community Uplift Program, Fargo, ND (June 2017).
Civil Liberties and Human Rights Issues at Standing Rock, Panelist, Nationwide Staff Conference Training Workshops, American Civil Liberties Union, Phoenix, AZ (April 2017).
Working with and for Protesters: First Amendment Rights, Organizing, and Civil Disobedience, Panelist, Nationwide Staff Conference Training Workshops, American Civil Liberties Union, Phoenix, AZ (April 2017).
Standing Rock is Everywhere: Civil Liberties Issues at Standing Rock and Local Indigenous Organizing, Panelist, Annual State Conference Advocacy Training Workshops & Lobby Day, American Civil Liberties Union of California, San Francisco, CA (April 2017).
A Lobbyist’s Perspective: Lobbying & Advocacy at the ND Legislature, Presenter, Capitol Democracy Café for Political Science Students, Minot State University, Bismarck, ND (March 2017).
North Dakota Legislative Session Update: The Key Issues and Bills, Panelist, WE Rise: Women Empowered Advocacy Training & Lobby Day, North Dakota Women’s Network, Bismarck, ND (March 2017).
LGBTQ+ Rights Advocacy & Lobbying in North Dakota, Panelist, Annual Human Rights Summit, North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, Fargo, ND (November 2016).
Voting in North Dakota: Laws, Procedures, and Processes, Presenter, Democracy Café for Political Science Students, Minot State University, Minot, ND (March 2016).
LGBTQ+ Students Rights and Best Practices for Educators, Presenter, Annual Meeting Training Workshops, North Dakota Association of School Counselors, Bismarck, ND (February 2016).
Young Lakota: A Film Screening and Discussion of the Reproductive Health Issues in Indian Country, Host and Moderator, NDSU Women’s Week Public Education Series, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND (February 2016).
Criminal Justice in a Post-Ferguson Era: Policing and Law Enforcement in the 21st Century, Panelist, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN (January 2016).
Voting Rights and Laws, Invited Panelist, State Conference Training Workshops, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – Mississippi, Jackson, MS (October 2015).
The State of Non-Discrimination Laws in North Dakota, Presenter, Diversity University Public Education Series, Bismarck Human Relations Commission, Bismarck, ND (September 2015).
A Lobbyist’s Perspective: Lobbying & Advocacy at the ND Legislature, Presenter, Capitol Democracy Café for Political Science Students, Minot State University, Bismarck, ND (March 2015).
The Art of Lobbying and Self-Advocacy, Panelist, WE Rise: Women Empowered Training and Lobby Day, North Dakota Women’s Network, Bismarck, ND (March 2015).