Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg full-time, Lydia was a summer associate with the firm. She conducted legal research and analysis on state and federal issues, drafted motions and discovery, and assisted with depositions and trial preparation.

Lydia gained additional experience while in law school as a judicial extern for the Honorable Virginia Kendall of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and a law clerk for the Illinois Prison Project. She also served as a guardian ad litem while a member of the Loyola Community Law Center Clinic. Lydia also helped organize and host the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Annual Constitutional Law colloquia at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Before law school, Lydia was an assistant director of development at the University of Chicago.