Jessica Gertel McGrew grew up in Tallahassee and graduated Florida State University in 1998 with a dual degree in English Literature and International Affairs. 

Prior to attending law school, she earned her M.A. in English from Boston College, where she taught writing and Shakespeare. She worked as a legal assistant at an international law firm, and as a teacher in the New York City Public Schools and in the Dallas County Community College District.  She earned her J.D. cum laude from Southern Methodist University, in 2007, where she was a member of a law journal and the National Environmental Law Moot Court Team.  While studying at Northwestern University School of Law for her 3L year, she clerked at the City of Chicago Law Department’s Appeals Division.  Admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2007, she practiced in Chicago with a legal aid organization before resolving to return to Florida.  Jessica is licensed in Illinois and Florida, and practices general civil litigation.  In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and following the Florida Marlins.