Vanessa Gomez is an Associate in the real estate division of Kirkland & Ellis LLP where her practice focuses on acquisitions, dispositions, financings and joint ventures for institutional investors, owners and developers. Prior to Kirkland, she was an associate at Proskauer Rose.  Vanessa was a student legal honors extern for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2017 and employed at various financial institutions in New York and California before receiving her law degree from UC Irvine. Vanessa is dedicated to pro bono work and her representation has included asylum seekers, state benefit recipients, DACA recipients, and adoptive parents.  While in law school, Vanessa advocated on behalf of domestic violence survivors in California by testifying before the California State Assembly on a bill to amend notice requirements for domestic violence ex parte orders; the bill was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2018.  In recognition of her commitment to public service, Vanessa received Pro Bono High Honors in law school and was awarded the State Bar of California Wiley W. Manuel Certificate for Pro Bono Legal Services, the UCI Law Legacy Award, and the UCI Community Bridge Builder Award. Vanessa completed her undergraduate work at Princeton University.