Kristen Mercado

As a J.D. Admissions Consultant and Chief Operating Officer of Spivey Consulting Group, Kristen works both one-on-one with applicants as well as directly with university administrations to help improve their admissions operations, career outcomes, and more.

Experience

Prior to joining Spivey Consulting Group, Kristen was a practicing attorney and respected admissions professional.

• She earned her J.D. and began her journey in law school admissions at the University of Chicago Law School
• Read and recommended decisions on first-year and transfer applications, coordinated admitted students programming, and gained experience with development and student affairs at the University of Chicago Law School
• Practiced litigation at Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago
• Served on the lawyer training and development team at the international firm Sidley Austin LLP
• Led the admissions office and served as the chief admissions officer and final decision-maker as Assistant Dean of Admission & Financial Aid at the University of California, Davis School of Law for 12 years

Her experience at UC Davis Law spanned the full range of duties involved in leading a law school admissions office.

• Read and made decisions on tens of thousands of admission files
• Made all scholarship decisions, managing a multi-million dollar financial aid budget for incoming and continuing students
• Oversaw the faculty Admissions Committee
• Recruited J.D. applicants
• Coordinated admitted student programming 
• Member of the Provost’s Dean Search Committee
• Counseled hundreds of prelaw students and conducted presentations on the law school admission process at universities nationwide

Consulting Approach

Kristen enjoys assisting and encouraging prospective law students of all backgrounds, and she has a particular passion for supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds navigating the law school admissions process, a commitment that her professional history illustrates.

• Member of Spivey Consulting Group’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee 
• Served as a faculty mentor to numerous first-generation law students
• Actively contributed to the UC Davis DEI Committee
• Led UC Davis’ award-winning pipeline program for first-generation college and low-income students
• Worked in nonprofit management at the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms

More About Kristen

A first-generation law school graduate, Kristen earned her A.B. with honors in psychology from the University of Chicago prior to returning to earn her JD. While a law student, she worked in the Mental Health Advocacy Project in Chicago Law’s clinical program for two years and externed in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. 

Kristen spends her free time volunteering with charitable organizations that aim to increase access to higher education. A native of Chicago, she is a proud “dog mom” to rescue pup Beatrice, whose frequent misbehavior she attributes to no one but herself.