Jani Tillery is a Chief Attorney at Maryland Legal Aid.  Jani holds a J.D. from Thomas Cooley Law School and a B.A. with Honors in Spanish from North Carolina Central University.  Prior to becoming a Chief Attorney, Jani was the Supervising Attorney at Maryland Center for Legal Assistance in the Montgomery County District Court Help Center.  Before joining Legal Aid,  Jani worked in private practice where she focused on special education law.  Jani also spent ten years at the Children's Law Center in Washington D.C., as a staff attorney and supervising attorney in the medical-legal partnership program.  She specialized in housing, special education, guardianship, SSI, and Medicaid denial cases.  Jani also mentored and trained pro bono attorneys in special education cases.  Earlier in her career, Jani was a victims' rights attorney at Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center representing victims of violent crime at the federal and state level.  As a victims' rights attorney, Jani represented victims in court, participated in appeals and conducted numerous trainings for judges, police officers, and members of the community.  She was awarded the Maryland Governor's Citation and Victim Assistance Award for providing outstanding service to victims of crime.