Speaker Bio

Erika Harold is Executive Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism.

Most recently, Erika was a commercial litigation attorney at Meyer Capel, P.C. in Champaign, Illinois, where she represented clients at both the trial and appellate levels and advised clients on matters of statutory and constitutional interpretation.

Earlier in her career, she was a litigation attorney at the Chicago offices of Sidley Austin LLP and Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C., representing businesses in commercial disputes and advising religious institutions in matters involving First Amendment protections. She has served on the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Equality since 2015.

Erika is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she won a Boykin C. Wright Memorial Award for appellate advocacy in Harvard Law School’s prestigious Ames Moot Court Competition. She funded her legal education through the scholarships and appearance fees she earned as Miss America 2003. Ms. Harold has been active in Illinois politics, most recently running a statewide race for Attorney General.

Erika has taught students about the U.S. legal system as part of the Lawyers in the Classroom program, coached students in city-wide mock trial competitions, and served on the teaching faculty of Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop.

She is a nationally recognized advocate of bullying prevention efforts and has spoken to more than 100,000 students about combating peer-to-peer harassment.

Erika is licensed to practice by the Supreme Court of Illinois and the United States District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois. She served on the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism as a Commissioner from 2017 to 2022.