Kristen Mercado to Lead King Hall Admission and Financial Aid Office

Kristen Mercado has been promoted to Assistant Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at UC Davis School of Law, Dean Kevin R. Johnson has announced. She succeeds Sharon Pinkney, who will retire on September 6 after having played an indispensable role in admissions at King Hall for 35 years. In her new role, Mercado will seek to streamline and improve the application review process while continuing to recruit and retain a talented and diverse student body.

Mercado, who earned her law degree at the University of Chicago Law School, joined King Hall as Associate Director of Admission and Outreach in 2011. Since then, she has worked to organize and execute admissions events, represent the Law School at recruiting functions, and oversee King Hall's premier pipeline programs for underrepresented students: Pre-Law Boot Camp and the King Hall Outreach Program (KHOP).

Prior to joining UC Davis, Mercado worked in the Palo Alto and Chicago offices of leading international law firm Sidley Austin LLP, where she was a manager of training and development for more than 1,500 lawyers. She also has worked for the Chicago Committee, an association of law firms and corporations that supports the professional development of young minority lawyers. Previously, Mercado was an associate at two Chicago law firms: Jenner & Block LLP, in the General and Securities Litigation & White Collar Crime Groups; and Schiff Hardin LLP, in the General Litigation Group. She also held a one-year fellowship in the Admissions Department at the University of Chicago Law School.