At its July 2024 meeting, the PILI Board of Directors elected new officers for PILI’s next two fiscal years. Kyle Petersen of Seyfarth Shaw was elected President, Lisa McCraw was elected Vice President, Mark O’Meara was elected Secretary, Elizabeth P. Lewis was elected Treasurer and Daniel B. Lange of VedderPrice was elected Immediate Past President. Their terms began on September 1, 2024 and will conclude on August 31, 2026.

KYLE A. PETERSEN, PRESIDENT

Kyle is a partner in the Wage & Hour Litigation Group at Seyfarth Shaw where she dedicates much of her time to representing employers across the U.S. in court litigation and administrative matters relating to wage and hour laws. Kyle is a PILI Alum, having served as a PILI Graduate Fellow after her graduation from Chicago-Kent College of Law. She joined the board in 2015 and most recently served as Vice President. Kyle is the first ever PILI Alumni to serve as President of the Board of Directors.

At Seyfarth Shaw, Kyle provides preventative counseling and works with employers to minimize their exposure to investigation and litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws. Kyle has also represented management against a number of discrimination and harassment claims pertaining to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and more. Kyle’s work has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Illinois Super Lawyers (2009-2013).

LISA J. MCCRAW, VICE PRESIDENT

Lisa joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2013, and most recently served as Secretary. She maintains an active pro bono practice of her own, providing counsel to nonprofits in the Quad Cities on corporate governance and contract review. She has also participated in PILI’s Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee’s service projects, including the Volunteer Lawyer Project for tenants facing eviction and the Wills and Power of Attorney clinic for low-income seniors. Lisa most recently served as Assistant General Counsel of Litigation at Deere & Company and is based in Moline. During Lisa’s tenure as chair of Deere’s pro bono committee, the company was recognized for its significant pro bono legal work in the community with PILI’s Pro Bono Initiative Award in 2012.

MARK O’MEARA, SECRETARY

Mark is a partner with Chapman and Cutler LLP in the Banking and Financial Services Department and is also a member of the Commercial Lending Group. He joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2016, and most recently served as Treasurer. Mark has a focus on representing financial institutions through structuring and documenting secured and unsecured transactions, loan restructuring and workout transactions. He has experience in asset-based lending, project financing, cash-flow lending and more. Mark served in forming and counseling a social impact fund managed by Local Initiatives Support Corporation that provides project loans to acquire, preserve, and improve affordable housing in the Detroit metropolitan area. Mark represented a financial services company in the Pay for Success financing of a new social impact project that aims to address the underlying causes of asthma by providing in-home asthma care and environmental interventions to low-income New Yorkers.

ELIZABETH P. LEWIS, TREASURER

Elizabeth serves as the Pro Bono and Community Service Partner at McDermott Will & Emery. She leads the Firm’s pro bono, community service and charitable giving initiatives to define the Firm’s programmatic mission, identify strategies for growth and launch pro bono and community service initiatives. Elizabeth also regularly works with nonprofit organizations on legal clinics, community service events and other opportunities for social impact. She also regularly represents individual and nonprofit clients on a wide variety of issues ranging from special education, school discipline, family law, tax exemption and a variety of other tax and business law issues. Elizabeth joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2015. She previously served on the Alumni Network Leadership Council, including as Chair. She is the first to join as an officer of the Board of Directors from the Alumni Network Leadership Council.

DANIEL B. LANGE, IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

After serving as President for the last two years, Daniel Lange will assume the office of Immediate Past President. He was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2009. Daniel is a shareholder of Vedder Price and a member of the firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits practice group. He has a wide range of legal expertise related to Labor and Employment, corporate transactions, tax law and welfare benefit programs. He represents private and public commercial companies, investment funds, ESOP trustees and employees in building and implementing executive compensation packages as well as broad-based equity and incentive arrangements while identifying related compliance and reporting requirements. Since 2018, Daniel has been recommended in the Legal 500 United States guide in Labor and Employment-Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Transactional category. Daniel was also selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America relating to Employment Benefits (ERISA) law in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. Read more about PILI’s accomplishments under Daniel’s leadership »

Check out the August 2024 PILI Post

This is a guest post from outgoing PILI Board of Directors President, Daniel B. Lange. Daniel is a Shareholder in the Chicago office of Vedder Price and a member of the firm’s Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits practice group. He joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2009, and previously served as Treasurer, Secretary and Vice President before becoming President. As of September 1, 2024, he will serve for two years as our Immediate Past President.

PILI Board Vice President Kyle Petersen (R) presents 2022-2024 Board President Daniel Lange (L) with a plaque to celebrate his leadership and service.

Over the past two years as President of PILI’s Board of Directors, it has been my honor to work with the Board and our staff team to take tremendous strides toward fulfilling PILI’s mission. In the past two years we:

• Hosted our 45th Anniversary Awards Gala, which was PILIs all-time most successful fundraising event.
• Expanded our Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees, and with increased staffing, have been able to divide the state into three regions to further increase our pro bono reach and impact.
• Hosted our first in-person summit of Pro Bono Committee Chairs since the pandemic, allowing PILI, committee leaders and other stakeholders (as well as a few justices from the Illinois Supreme Court) to gather and discuss ways that can make pro bono representation more efficient and successful.
• Celebrated the fifth anniversary of PILI’s becoming the state administrator of Illinois Free Legal Answers.
• Added a significant number of newly funded school year and summer Law Student Interns, drastically increasing the number of legal hours that PILI Interns provide to our partner  agencies and their clients throughout Illinois. PILI also increased the stipend paid to PILI Interns twice over the last two years.
• Held the first ever PILI Leadership Reception in September 2022, which was the first time where leaders of PILI’s Board of Directors, Alumni Network Leadership Council, and Young Professionals Board all gathered together to further PILI’s mission.
• Celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of PILI’s Pro Bono Initiative for the New Millennium, the precursor to today’s Pro Bono Program.
• Prepared and adopted a new three-year Long Range Plan that will guide our organization through 2026.

For the sake of brevity, the above are just some of our accomplishments.

I became involved with PILI after the pro bono coordinator at my former law firm asked me to serve on the Board as the firm’s representative, but I have stayed involved because it is a dynamic organization that is rolling up its sleeves and doing the work that is necessary to make Illinois a better place for those without the means to pay for adequate legal assistance.

While I have served on the Board, the PILI team has worked through leadership changes, a global financial crisis, a pandemic, an office relocation, and many other challenges. Nonetheless, the organization remains strong and mission focused. In fact, since I first joined the Board, PILI’s annual budget has more than tripled, and its focus has changed from primarily working with public interest law partner agencies, to becoming an essential part of the state-wide pro bono safety net that tries to ensure appropriate legal representation for all.

None of these accomplishments are mine. Rather they result from the PILI founders’ great vision, and the hard work of all who have joined the cause throughout our history, particularly PILI’s excellent and dedicated staff.

I look forward to a bright future for PILI and the rest of the Illinois public interest law community. It is my honor and privilege to have served as President of the Board, and to continue working with everyone at PILI.

Lexi joined PILI in August 2024 as our Intake & Program Support Associate. She is responsible for supporting the work of PILI’s Pro Bono Program, conducting client intake interviews, maintaining client service data, and helping to support PILI’s statewide pro bono volunteers.

Lexi earned her Master of Social Work from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois-Chicago in May 2024. She previously received a Bachelor of Arts with High Distinction in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Indiana University. During her undergraduate studies, Lexi worked as a Legal Intern for Carl Lamb & Associates, and as a Criminal Justice Intern at the Beacon of Hope Crisis Center in Indianapolis.

Most recently, Lexi worked as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Illinois-Chicago.  She also served as a Case Management Intern at Lawndale Christian Legal Center, helping attorneys and outreach workers provide services for juveniles and emerging adults in the criminal legal system. In addition, she previously interned with the Federal Defender Program in Chicago and Advancing Real Change, Inc. in Baltimore.

Lexi can be reached by email or at 312-832-5131.

Meet the rest of the PILI staff here »

As PILI’s Fiscal Year 2024 comes to an end, we want to extend our greatest appreciation for the leadership of several individuals who are concluding their service on PILI’s Board of Directors at the end of August. Each individual has given their talents and dedicated their time to serve PILI in its mission to engage, inspire and empower those advancing equal access to justice.

We have eight directors departing the PILI Board of Directors as of August 31st.

• John Amberg of Northern Trust
• Kimball Anderson of Winston & Strawn
• Susan Curry formerly of University of Chicago Law School
• Louis Fogel formerly of Jenner & Block
• Thomas Dutton formerly of Greenberg Traurig
• Sheila Frederick of United Airlines
• Mark Rotatori of Jones Day
• Kevin Thompson of The Chicago Bar Association

Additionally, Christopher J. Blythe, 2022 Graduate Fellow Representative and Ryan Ortiz, 2022 Law Student Intern Representative, are completing their two-year terms as of August 31^st. We are very thankful for their service and wish them well in their future, while looking forward to celebrating their accomplishments as PILI Alumni along the way!

Finally, Bide Akande of the Office of the Cook County Public Defender who has served as the Liaison from the Young Professionals Board and Jill E. Roberts of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts who has serve3d as the Liaison from the Alumni Network Leadership Council are concluding their service as representatives on the board. Both will assume their respective chair positions for their leadership bodies as of September 1st. We look forward to continuing to work with them in their new leadership positions.

PILI Senior Managing Attorney Jessica Schneider, 2023-24 YPB Chair Corey Biller & 2023-2024 YPB Chair-Elect Bide Akande

PILI is grateful to Corinne Biller, of Conagra Brands, who has been serving as Chair of our Young Professionals Board for the last year and will conclude her term at the end of this month.

Corinne serves as Counsel for Labor and Employment at Conagra Brands. Previously, she was an associate at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP where she managed civil cases in federal and state court, as well as administrative charges pending in front of the NLRB, EEOC, and state agencies. Corrine received both her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Ancient Studies as well as her Juris Doctor from Washington University in St. Louis. Corrine was a member of the National ABA Moot Court Team, President of the Labor and Employment Law Society and a member of the Women’s Law Caucus.

Corrine was a PILI Law Student Intern at Lambda Legal conducting legal research and prepared memoranda on issues impacting the LGBT community and people living with HIV, interviewed with potential clients and prepared intake forms and assisted staff attorneys with trial preparation for ongoing cases in state and federal court. Corrine has been an active member of the Young Professionals Board for over five years, previously serving as Chair-Elect and being instrumental in the fundraising and planning of Young Professionals Board events like Giving Tuesday and Arcade for Legal Aid.

As Corinne concludes her service as Chair, we asked her a few questions about her involvement with PILI.

WHAT DREW YOU TO PILI AND ITS MISSION?

What drew me to PILI was the breadth of its pro bono service. PILI’s support of pro bono efforts is so extensive and far-reaching that no matter the personal causes that are important to you, PILI is almost certainly supporting non-profit agencies geared towards those causes.

HOW HAS YOUR COMMITMENT TO PRO BONO SERVICE PLAYED A ROLE IN YOUR LIFE AND CAREER?

My commitment to pro bono service, including through PILI, has made me both a better person and a better lawyer. It has strengthened my connection to my community by opening my eyes to the vast amount of legal need that exists for so many and showing me how important every effort is to close that gap. It has also exposed me to new and different legal challenges and helped me build an incredible network of local legal professionals.

Check out July 2024 PILI Post»

PILI is thrilled to announce that it has received increased support from Illinois Access to Justice, a state-wide grant program that seeks to mitigate the devasting consequences of all forms of detention and incarceration, resulting in crippling effects on historically marginalized communities.

This support in the amount of $115,413 is for PILI’s statewide Pro Bono Program. PILI uses pro bono legal services to fill gaps in the availability of civil legal aid for low-income Illinoisans, including individuals and families impacted by incarceration who have nowhere else to turn for help. Through an innovative range of pro bono opportunities, we engage volunteers to meet unmet legal needs across the state.

We are incredibly grateful to Illinois Access to Justice for this continued and increased support of our work!