Kevin M. Zielinski

Institute for Reforming Government — Delafield, Wisconsin

• Lead legal analyst for IRG's Court Watch Initiative: review and summarize Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals oral arguments, brief decisions, and maintain the appellate judicial scorecard.
• Designed, built, and deployed IRGCourtWatch.org — IRG's public-facing judicial oversight platform featuring Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals scorecards, litigation analysis, educational primers, and policy reports.
• Identify judicial trends and assess their downstream policy implications for IRG's reform agenda.
• Conduct legal and policy research supporting IRG's reform initiatives and oversight projects.
• Support the Center for Investigative Oversight: track administrative rulemaking, review executive orders, evaluate state agencies, draft public records requests, and analyze returned documents.
• Co-authored The Agency Sunshine Report (August 2026) for the Center for Investigative Oversight, and independently designed and built the interactive Agency Dashboard that accompanies it as its sole developer.
• Co-authored Liberal Arts (October 2026) for the Center for Investigative Oversight, examining UW-Madison's BadgersVote Coalition and whether its privately funded turnout operation is reached by the Wisconsin Constitution's 2024 ban on private funding of election administration.
• Co-authored SCOWIS 2026 Term in Review and built its interactive web edition on IRGCourtWatch.org single-handedly, turning the published report into a browsable resource.
• Developed AI-assisted publication and research workflows to accelerate appellate opinion analysis, legal-content production, and digital dissemination across IRG's Court Watch initiative.

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale — Carbondale, Illinois

College of Business & Analytics · School of Analytics, Finance, and Economics

• Instructor of record, FIN 270: Legal and Social Environment of Business and FIN 280: Business Law I, taught concurrently in Fall 2026 — six credit hours per semester.
• Designed and delivered the full FIN 270 curriculum — lectures, assessments, and evaluations — for undergraduate students, and built out FIN 280 on taking it up.
• Appointed to add FIN 380: Business Law II in Spring 2027, again running concurrently with FIN 270.
• Teaching effectiveness, FIN 270 (Fall 2025): 4.6/5.0 overall instructor rating; 94% recommendation rate.

Institute for Reforming Government — Delafield, Wisconsin

• Co-authored the IRG Court Watch Report: Wisconsin Supreme Court Term in Review (July 2025).
• Drafted amicus brief for the Center for American Rights, United States v. Dugan, No. 2:25-cr-89 (E.D. Wis. June 9, 2025).
• Co-authored Judicial Immunity in Wisconsin Has Limitations Attached to the Role of a Judge (May 28, 2025).
• Reviewed major court decisions to provide timely analysis for policymakers and media outlets, and monitored proposed administrative rules at the state and federal levels.

Crossroad Legal, LLC — Glen Carbon, Illinois

• Drafted FOID-card appeals that resulted in successful client reinstatements.
• Researched and authored articles on Second Amendment doctrine and Illinois firearm regulation.
• Drafted memoranda summarizing complex legal issues and recommending positions to supervising attorneys.

Jackson County State's Attorney's Office — Murphysboro, Illinois

• Operated under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 license to actively participate in misdemeanor and felony proceedings in the Illinois Fifth District.
• Drafted charging documents, motions, and supporting briefs that aided successful prosecutions.
• Organized evidence portfolios and assisted attorneys at hearings and trial.

Project Upward Bound, Southern Illinois University — Carbondale, Illinois

• Designed and taught a 6-week syllabus on foundational legal concepts to a cohort of 13 high school students.
• Anchored doctrine in current events and used structured group discussion to develop critical-reasoning skills.
• Prepared students for a mock trial held on the final day of the course.

Southern Illinois University, Simmons Law School — Carbondale, Illinois

• Produced instructional Bluebook citation videos used as 1L reference material.
• Streamlined research resources for first-year law students.
• Earned Thomson Reuters Legal Research certifications (Basic through Advanced).

Southern Illinois University, Simmons Law School — Carbondale, Illinois

• Mentored prospective law students and led admissions tours.
• Supported alumni engagement and admissions outreach in the Office of Admissions.

Self-Employed — Palatine & Carbondale, Illinois

• Built and ran an independent tutoring practice serving secondary and undergraduate students; designed individualized curricula based on diagnostic assessments.
• Worked with a wide range of students, from gifted learners to those facing significant academic challenges.

College Admission Planning (CAP) — Arlington Heights, Illinois

• Drafted ten original SAT English tests and ten original SAT Reading tests for institutional use.
• Instructed high school students in SAT Reading Comprehension and Writing & Language.

Stevenson High School — Lincolnshire, Illinois

• Judged live public forum debates and delivered constructive feedback to competitors.

Tutor Doctor — Chicago, Illinois

• Recruited, interviewed, and managed a regional tutor team across the Chicago area.
• Matched tutors with students, monitored academic progress, and served as primary liaison for families.
• Reviewed and approved session reports, tracked tutor performance, and maintained the tutor database.

Varsity Tutors, Chegg, TutorMe — Remote

• Provided on-demand remote tutoring across English Composition, AP Biology, Chemistry, and Physiology.
• Awarded “Best of Tutors” recognition multiple years on Tutors.com.