Advice from PILI Intern & Fellow Supervisors

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In a few short weeks, our summer Law Student Interns and Graduate Fellows will be starting at their agencies. To prepare, we reached out to some of our Intern & Fellow supervisors who offered the below advice.

Aneesha Ghandi, National Immigrant Justice Center

Aneesha Gandhi

Immerse yourself in the organization’s work and be open to learning as much as you can from the attorneys and legal workers around you during your Internship or Fellowship. I believe it is also important to clearly communicate with your supervisor/s and ask for clarification when needed.

Phil Mohr, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services

Phil Mohr

Gain trust quickly.  Whenever I’m asked to write references about past Interns, the one trait that makes me excited to promote them is their trustworthiness.  Be on time, pay attention to detail, follow instructions, care about the quality of your work, and meet deadlines!  You will notice that the attorneys at your organization are all very busy and may not be focused on you. Don’t be fooled. There will be times when the focus is on you. If you are diligent and productive early on, you will engender trust in you.

Andrew Sharp, Illinois Legal Aid Online

Andrew Sharp

Pay attention in meetings, even if it doesn’t directly impact your work. Interns and Fellows are often invited to staff-wide or practice group-wide meetings so that they can get exposed to the larger operations of the organization. It doesn’t look good if you are doodling, texting, or surfing the web. Also you never know when you might hear something that does affect your work.

Erica Spangler Raz, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights

Erica Spangler Raz

Please don’t wait for interesting assignments. When attending staff meetings or observing client calls, it’s helpful for Interns and Fellows to take initiative and volunteer for research projects or follow-up client work. In our office we try to give projects to Interns and Fellows that show interest in them, and that also ensures that you have a good learning experience.

Kate Shank, LAF

Kate Shank

Be prepared for assignments. When you meet with your supervisor (any advocate who could give you an assignment) always bring a pen, paper, and your calendar. It always makes me nervous when I ask an Intern for help with a case and they don’t have any way to write down what is being asked!

Barry Taylor, Equip for Equality

Barry C. Taylor Photo

If there isn’t a formal mechanism for assignment feedback at your agency, and you haven’t heard back from an attorney about the work you’ve done, don’t hesitate to ask for feedback.  Most attorneys are happy to do this, but sometimes forget to provide feedback because they’re busy. One strategy for following up is for you to ask if they have any questions about the work you’ve done or if they need anything else done on that matter.

Marisa Wiesman, Prairie State Legal Services

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Take your time: Your supervisor understands that it will take an Intern (or a new lawyer, for that matter) longer to draft a pleading or to research a topic than it will take an experienced attorney to complete the same task. We don’t expect you to churn out a motion in five minutes. Be mindful of deadlines, but take time to learn.

Pat Wrona, CARPLS

Pat Wrona

Legal aid is notoriously under resourced.  It’s definitely an “all hands on deck” kind of environment.  Everyone pitches in, without respect to title or position.  Going in with a “can do” attitude, understanding that no task is insignificant if it benefits the clients and the agency, will be a good first step to success in a legal aid Internship or Fellowship.

Susan Zielke, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation

Susan Zielke

Ask questions! The staff does not bite, and they want you to be successful. Do not worry about being perfect, because we realize this is a learning experience for you. However, always do your best work. This displays your commitment to the work, as well as your actual ability, and will reflect well on you when your supervisor is assessing your work.

PILI Mourns the Passing of PILI Life Director Barbara B. Bressler

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DePaul Law Professor Barbara B. Bressler

PILI Life Director Barbara Bressler, 67, passed away earlier this week. Barbara joined PILI’s Board of Directors in 1994, later being named as a Life Director in 2017.

Barbara dedicated her legal career to educating young lawyers at DePaul University College of Law and through her involvement in and support of PILI’s Law Student Internship and Graduate Fellowship Programs. In 2000, she founded the nation’s first technology and intellectual property clinical program at DePaul to provide artists with the legal services to protect their creative work. Having been with DePaul College of Law since 1984, Barbara retired last year as an associate dean of Experiential Education and the director emeritus of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Information Technology.

“The PILI Board of Directors and staff are saddened by the loss of Barbara and are thankful for her 24 years of involvement with and support of PILI,” said PILI Executive Director Michael Bergmann. “I’ve known Barbara as a law school professor, as a board member at both PILI and at CVLS where I worked previously, and as a friend. Her commitment to ensuring the finest legal education to all those who came through DePaul and PILI and her commitment to helping those in need were truly remarkable. She will be remembered and missed always.”

Barbara was survived by her husband Jerry, two brothers, and many nieces, nephews, and friends.  A service will be held this Friday, May 4th at 10:00 a.m. at Chicago Jewish Funerals, located at 8851 Skokie Boulevard in Skokie. More information can be found here.

May Legal Prep Community Law Clinic Adopted by Latham & Watkins

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Thank you to attorneys from Latham & Watkins who volunteered at the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic on Tuesday, May 1st. PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council collaborates with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) and Legal Prep Charter Academies to host a monthly community-based clinic for the student families and neighbors of Legal Prep in the Garfield Park neighborhood. PILI invites law firms and corporations to “adopt” a clinic date with attorneys from the firm who serving as pro bono attorneys at the clinic.

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers from Latham: Board Member Dave Callahan, Lesley Hamming, Kumar and Kumar Ravula. They spent the evening assisting low-income clients with legal issues including adoption, tort defense and a name change.

PILI coordinates this monthly clinic, typically held on the first Tuesday of each month. If you are interested in hosting or your firm is interested in adopting a clinic date, please contact PILI Program Manager Brent Page by email or by phone at 312-832-5128.

Learn more about the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic »

Lawyers and Students Celebrate Law Day

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As part of a community outreach effort, attorneys of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee are volunteering at local schools to celebrate Law Day, which takes place on May 1st each year.  They will be teaching classes about relevant topics such as free speech, law and justice, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

“One of the goals of our Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees has always been to provide legal education to the public,” explained PILI’s Executive Director Michael Bergmann. “These activities will help students understand the greater system of law and justice and how it affects them.”

Local volunteer attorneys and judges, including members of the Pro Bono Committee, will visit classes in Charleston, Chrisman, Danville, Mattoon, and Paris on May 1st.  The goal is to encourage students to develop their own informed opinions concerning current events, law and justice. This year’s outreach is being planned by committee member Angel Wawrzynek of Tapella & Eberspacher.

“This volunteer opportunity provides lawyers and judges with a positive and informative way to introduce students to our legal system,” says Bergmann.

Details of the visits are as follows: (all visits will take place on May 1st unless otherwise stated)

  • Chrisman High School will be visited by L. Kaye DeSelms Dent of Frisse & Brewster Law Offices on April 26th.
  • Paris High School will be visited by Joseph Pappas of Smith Law.
  • Danville High School will be visited by William Schmitz at Spiros Law.
  • Charleston High School will be visited by Jacob Smallhorn of Hefner, Eberspacher & Tapella, Angelica Wawrzynek of Tapella & Eberspacher and Judge James Glennof the Fifth Judicial Circuit.
  • Mattoon High School will be visited by Angelica Wawrzynek on May 1st & 3rd.
  • John’s Jr. High will be visited by Sarah Hocking of Smith Law.

Learn more about the Fifth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee »

Learn more about the Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees »

Creating Positive Pro Bono Partnerships: Takeaways from the 2018 Joint Firm and Corporate Pro Bono Roundtable

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On April 19th, 40 representatives from Illinois law firms and corporate legal departments met at the Illini Center for PILI’s Joint Law Firm & Corporate Pro Bono Roundtable. For the first hour, law firms and corporations met separately to discuss pro bono challenges and strategies specific to their organizations and for the second hour, they met together to discuss opportunities for positive collaboration. Thank you to Pattishall McAuliffe for hosting.

Law Firms: Leveraging Resources to Grow Pro Bono Programs

Law firms discussed how to leverage resources for pro bono work within the firm as well as external vendors. They discussed enlisting the marketing department to help promote pro bono projects to volunteers and clients, as well as spotlight the success of projects after they’re completed. Someone also suggested reaching out to trial vendors who do a lot of paid work for the firm and ask if they would be willing to donate their services for a pro bono case. Several attendees also suggested leveraging the power of firm leadership to promote pro bono from the top down and making pro bono participation a part of the partner review process. Leadership can also require that all summer associates take on a pro bono case, helping to promote and engage attorneys in pro bono from the beginning of their careers.

Corporations: Involving Everyone in Pro Bono

Since many of the corporations who attended either don’t have their headquarters in Chicago or have other offices outside of the city, this group discussed what pro bono opportunities are available to those in the suburbs. Several attendees suggested pro bono opportunities that attorneys can do at their desk, including working the Equip for Equality special education helpline, answering questions on Illinois Free Legal Answers or providing advocacy over the phone with LAF’s SNAP Pro Bono Project. This group also discussed ways to leverage pro bono resources including, like law firms, engaging senior leadership and spotlighting successful pro bono projects. They also discussed the importance of engaging every practice group and for setting goals for pro bono participation.

Joint Discussion: Engaging in Positive Pro Bono Partnerships

In the separate discussions, law firm and corporate leaders had candid discussions about the pros and cons of partnering on pro bono projects. All the participants overwhelmingly agreed that pro bono partnerships were a positive experience to help involve more attorneys, strengthen relationships and serve more clients. There did seem to be an assumption that after a clinic or project, law firm attorneys would take the bulk of the work back to the office to wrap up any loose ends, and some corporate and law firm attorneys alike felt this wasn’t always appropriate. All agreed that it was important to set up clear expectations in the planning stages of a program and to come up with a plan on how the work would be divided. There was also a suggestion that pro bono attorneys move beyond a bi-lateral approach and allow for multiple law firms and/or multiple corporations to be involved in a pro bono project. Law firms can invite more than one of their clients to join a project and corporations can invite more than one outside counsel firm to join. This would allow for more work to be done and clients to be served.

Additionally, several law firm participants agreed that it would be useful for corporations to ask their outside counsel for reports on the pro bono activities of their specific outside counsel. They thought this would help encourage pro bono participation even more than asking for general pro bono participation statistics.

Finally, participants shared some of their pro bono successes around partnerships and marketing pro bono programs. They thought it was important for pro bono projects to be included in corporate newsletters and to show they were being good pro bono citizens.

PILI Celebrates National Volunteer Week

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This year’s National Volunteer Week is April 15-21, 2018. National Volunteer Week, powered by Points of Light, is an opportunity to celebrate the impact of volunteer service and the power of volunteers to come together to tackle tough challenges, and build stronger, more resilient communities.

This year, to celebrate National Volunteer Week, PILI asked some of our volunteers why they choose to serve. We’re grateful to all the great volunteers who help increase access to justice in Illinois.

Abigail Fleming, Tenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee Member & Help Desk Volunteer

Abigail Fleming - Square

“PILI allows me to serve the great need in my community. The legal system is not always straightforward or easy to navigate, especially for those who represent themselves due to financial need. In my experience volunteering with PILI, pro bono attorneys at all levels can have a significant impact in the community with donating even a small portion of their time.”

Learn more about Pro Bono Volunteer Opportunities in the Tenth Judicial Circuit »

Mike McElvain, Eleventh Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee Member

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“Pro bono legal assistance is not charity to the needy, it is part of the privilege we enjoy as licensed attorneys. The legal system is only effective if attorney help is available to all that need assistance.”

Volunteer at the Legal Advice Fair on May 19th »

Daniel Parish, PILI Alumni Legal Prep Community Law Clinic Volunteer

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“The Legal Prep Community Law Clinic makes it easy for attorneys to have a major impact on our clients’ lives within a relatively short amount of time. I enjoy the challenge of working on cases outside of my day-to-day practice and developing new skills.”

Sign up for the next Legal Prep Community Law Clinic »

Julie Rosales, Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee Chair

Julie Rosales - Square

“I volunteer with the Public Interest Law Initiative because I believe it is important to work collaboratively with others in the community to bring pro bono services to those in need. PILI established pro bono committees in the judicial circuits to look strategically at the needs in each local community, which means that our efforts in the 14th Judicial Circuit have been targeted to make a difference where the need is greatest. It’s rewarding to know that the time I devote makes a difference.”

Join the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee at the Legal Answers Pro Bono Clinic on May 16th»

Ropes & Gray Attorneys Volunteer at Legal Prep Community Law Clinic

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R&G Legal Prep

Thank you to attorneys from Ropes & Gray who volunteered at the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic on Tuesday, April 10th. PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council collaborates with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) and Legal Prep Charter Academies to host a monthly community-based clinic for the student families and neighbors of Legal Prep in the Garfield Park neighborhood. PILI invites law firms and corporations to “adopt” a clinic date with attorneys from the firm who serving as pro bono attorneys at the clinic.

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers: Jamie Darch, Reginald Guy II, Lisa McJohn, Rebekah Newman, Lizzy Noonan-Pomada, Kelly Pendergast, William Schoenfeld, Amanda Seitz, Patrick Valenti, Josef Weimholt. They assisted clients with  property dispute, workman’s compensation claim, and wills and estates issues.

PILI coordinates this monthly clinic, typically held on the first Tuesday of each month. If you are interested in hosting or your firm is interested in adopting a clinic date, please contact PILI Program Manager Brent Page by email or by phone at 312-832-5128.

Learn more about the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic »

Board Member Spotlight: Daniel Lange

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Daniel Lange joined PILI’s Board of Directors in 2009 and currently serves as the Board Treasurer. As such, Daniel oversees PILI’s budget and finances and helps with strategic planning.

Daniel appreciates the facilitator mission that PILI fulfills. “They bridge the gap of all levels of the legal profession between the broader community on the one hand and the pro bono/public interest community on the other hand,” he said.

As a shareholder at Vedder Price, Daniel is a member of the firm’s Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits practice group. In addition to volunteering his time with PILI, Daniel has volunteered at CGLA’s expungement help desks where he provides advice to individuals seeking to clear their criminal records through expungement, sealing or executive clemency. He also provides pro bono legal assistance for Camp Ramah, a Jewish summer camp in Wisconsin.

When he’s not working, Daniel likes playing board games including his favorite like Settlers of Catan and Codenames. He also likes to travel and escapes the Chicago cold with trips to Palm Springs with his family.

Through his role at PILI, Daniel likes contributing to the increase of pro bono services in the community. “Many clients throughout Illinois might not receive legal services if not for PILI’s facilitation efforts.”

PILI is grateful to have Daniel as part of our Board of Directors!

Read more PILI Board Member Spotlights »

Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee Co-Sponsors Legal Answers Volunteer Program

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On March 30th, the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee co-sponsored a volunteer program at Northern Illinois University College of Law. Attorneys and law students gathered to answer legal questions on Illinois Legal Aid Online’s Legal Answers website.

Legal Answers is a secure website (IL.freelegalanswers.org) where lower income Illinois residents can ask a lawyer for help with a legal issue. Qualified users post questions about civil legal problems. Volunteer lawyers then log onto the site and select questions to answer. It’s like a virtual walk-in legal clinic.

During this program, which was co-sponsored by PILI’s Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee, an ILAO attorney provided training on how to answer questions and then law students researched and drafted answers to family and housing law questions. The attorneys then checked their work and the answers were submitted.

Nine students and three attorneys volunteered at the program and worked on answering questions. Attorneys can volunteer at any time by logging onto Free Legal Answers and picking questions to answer.

This program was also co-sponsored by the American Bar Association, DuPage County Bar Association Public Interest and Education Commission, Illinois Legal Aid Online and Northern Illinois University College of Law.

Learn more about the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee »

Read the March PILI Post

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We’re talking volunteerism this month at PILI!

In this newsletter, you will find ways to get involved through PILI’s volunteer opportunities and Pro Bono Roundtables. Then, you can read a guest post by a member of PILI’s Young Professionals Board about the rewarding work of volunteering on our YPB, meet two PILI Alumni who are star volunteers, and view an article outlining some of the reasons attorneys volunteer.

Don’t forget to check out all of PILI’s programming and upcoming events, including the YPB’s Arcade for Legal Aid on May 2nd and our Annual Pro Bono Reception on June 20th.

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