Carole Ann Spink
Assistant Professor of Law at Barry University
Carole Ann Spink is a legal scholar, law professor, and former international employment law partner with more than 2 decades of legal practice experience. She serves as an Assistant Professor of Law at Barry University’s Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, where she teaches Contracts, Business Organizations, and Employment Law. Her professional career includes partnership roles at major international law firms, where she focused on the employment law components of cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Her academic background includes a Juris Doctor degree earned with High Honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law and a Master of Science degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.
Early Academic Background
Spink began her higher education at the University of Central Florida, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1992. During her undergraduate years, she was inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society. Alongside her academic studies, she served as an Academic Peer Advisor in the School of Communications. In that role, she supported other students with educational planning and coursework guidance, gaining early experience in mentorship and educational support.
Following the completion of her undergraduate degree, she pursued legal education at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law. She earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1997, graduating with High Honors and ranking ninth in a class of 335 students. Her academic achievements resulted in her election to the Order of the Coif and recognition as a Kent Legal Scholar. These distinctions reflected sustained academic focus and strong legal reasoning skills throughout her law school career.
During law school, she also contributed to legal scholarship as a Notes and Comments Editor for the Chicago-Kent Law Review. This position required detailed legal research, careful writing, and editorial review. In the summer of 1995, she completed a judicial externship with a federal district court judge for the Northern District of Illinois. This experience provided exposure to federal court proceedings and the judicial decision-making process.
Several years later, she returned to academic study to expand her international perspective. In 2003, she earned a Master of Science degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. This graduate education strengthened her understanding of global affairs and complemented her legal training in international employment matters.
Entry into Legal Practice
Carole's legal career began in Chicago, where she joined a global law firm as a Summer Associate in 1996. She later continued with the same firm as an Associate from 1997 to 1999. During this early period, she developed foundational skills in legal research, drafting, and client representation within a large law firm environment.
In 1999, she joined Baker McKenzie in Chicago as an Associate. From the outset, her work focused on employment and labor law matters in a global context. After a brief period away from the firm, she returned in September 2006. Her continued professional development and leadership responsibilities led to her promotion to Partner in January 2011. In this role, she managed complex employment matters and coordinated work across multiple jurisdictions.
Leadership in Global Employment Law
As a Partner at Baker McKenzie from 2011 to 2019, she became a leader within the firm’s North America Global Employment and Labor Law practice. She regularly led transactions involving 50 or more jurisdictions, which required careful coordination among local counsel and close attention to differing legal requirements. Her work focused on guiding clients through complex cross-border employment issues while maintaining compliance across multiple legal systems.
In addition to client work, she contributed to the firm’s intellectual and professional activities. Spink served as the North America Editor for The Global Employer, a publication addressing developments in employment law. Through this role, she supported knowledge sharing and professional development within the firm.
Pro Bono and Social Impact Work
Throughout her time at Baker McKenzie, she maintained a strong commitment to pro bono service and social impact initiatives. One notable effort involved the design and presentation of four international cooperative modules on pro bono work and social innovation. This work reflected her belief in the broader responsibilities of legal professionals beyond commercial practice.
She also served as Team Leader for a significant pro bono collaboration with corporate partners as part of PILnet’s Empowerment of Women in Nepal project. This initiative involved a team of 70 lawyers from 11 countries and focused on supporting women's legal and economic empowerment. The project received the 2010 Corporate Pro Bono Partner Award from the Pro Bono Institute, recognizing the scope and impact of the collaborative effort.
Partnership at McDermott Will & Schulte
In 2019, she joined McDermott Will & McDermott (Now McDermott Will ^ Schulte) in Chicago as a Partner in the Employment practice group. In this role, she advised clients on domestic and global employment law matters. Her responsibilities expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period marked by rapidly evolving workplace and legal challenges.
During this time, she served as Co-Chair of the firm’s COVID-19 Task Force and acted as the founding author of the firm’s Pandemic Resource Center. These responsibilities involved monitoring legal developments, coordinating internal guidance, and providing practical resources to assist clients during the pandemic.
Transition to Academia
After more than two decades in private legal practice, Carole Spink transitioned into legal academia, bringing extensive practical experience into the classroom. In August 2024, she joined Barry University’s Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in Orlando, Florida, as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law.
During the 2024–2025 academic year, she designed and taught two sections of Contracts for first-year students in the fall semester. In the spring semester, she developed and taught an additional Contracts section along with a Contracts Drafting course for upper-level students. These courses emphasized both foundational legal principles and applied drafting skills.
In August 2025, she was appointed Assistant Professor of Law at Barry University. In this role, she teaches Contracts, Business Organizations, and Employment Law, continuing her work in legal education and student instruction.
Earlier Teaching Experience
Her academic career is informed by earlier teaching experience at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. From August 2004 to May 2006, she served as a Westerfield Fellow. In that role, she taught legal reasoning and appellate advocacy to two classes of 25–30 first-year students, focusing on analytical thinking, legal writing, and oral advocacy.
Professional Credentials and Practice Focus
Carole Ann Spink is admitted to practice law in Illinois, where she was admitted in 1997, and in Florida, where she was admitted in 2022. Throughout her career, she has advised clients on domestic and cross-border employment law matters, with a focus on global corporate reorganizations and outsourcing transactions. She continues to apply her professional experience to legal education and scholarly work in employment law.
