PILI Alumni Spotlight: Lindsey Schmeidler, 2016 Law Student Intern

Posted on November 3, 2016November 3, 2016 by Lauren Harper

PILI is excited to welcome Lindsey Schmeidler to our Board of Directors as the 2016 Intern Alumni Representative. PILI appoints one Intern and one Fellow every year from the most recent class to serve on the board for a two-year term.

Lindsey is a second-year law student at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. She is a double PILI, having interned at CARPLS last summer and again this fall. She is extremely focused on public interest law and has already accomplished a lot in her short legal career.

“A commitment to service is the driving force in my legal education and career,” said Lindsey. “PILI has truly been a saving grace in giving me the financial ability to continue my lifelong commitment to public service.”

As a PILI Intern at CARPLS, she worked on the telephone hotline where she gave advice and referrals to clients who needed help with family, consumer and housing law. She also spent time at CARPLS’s court-based help desks in the Daley Center, drafting documents for clients and researching clients’ cases.

During the summer, Lindsey also participated in PILI’s Educational Seminar Series where she met other public interest-minded law students from across the nation.

“In particular, these events gave me and my fellow PILIs a chance to share our frustrations with policies and laws that we believed to be unfair to our client populations, our anxieties about finding public interest jobs following graduation, and our awe at the responsibility we were handed from our agencies,” said Lindsey. “In my opinion, this is the single greatest achievement of PILI – they give public interest-minded law students a platform for engaging with each other.”

When not at her PILI Internships, Lindsey is hard at work in law school. In addition to her regular classes, she is working with Professor Ron Staudt using the program Access to Justice Author (A2J Author) to develop guided interviews for pro se litigants that results in a court document. She has also been exploring increasing access to justice by better implementing technology in the court systems, at legal aid organizations and for use by pro se litigants. She believes her school work and her PILI Internship experiences have worked together to improve her legal education.

“Following my experience as a PILI Intern, I am more attuned to the ways in which the legal doctrines that I learn will and do affect the population of low-income individuals,” Lindsey said. “As a student, I have been able to connect the theory that I learn in class every day to actual legal problems that real people are facing.”

PILI Alumni Spotlight: John Adams, 2016 Graduate Fellow

Posted on November 3, 2016November 3, 2016 by Lauren Harper

PILI is excited to welcome John Adams to our Board of Directors as the 2016 Fellow Alumni Representative. PILI appoints one Intern and one Fellow every year from the most recent class to serve on the board for a two-year term.

John is a first-year associate at Sidley Austin LLP. He recently graduated from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law with a joint Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration, and completed his PILI Fellowship at the John Marshall Veterans Legal Support Center and Clinic. He primarily worked on implementing legislation which mandates that each Illinois county creates a Veterans Treatment Court, specifically designed to treat and rehabilitate military veterans who have gotten involved in the justice system.

“I had the opportunity to work with the most amazing, dedicated people,” said John. “We each provided a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing Veterans Treatment Courts.”

John is himself a veteran, having served in the United States Marine Corps from 2008 to 2012. He then worked at Operation Gratitude, Inc., a military-support nonprofit, before starting at Northwestern.

Since finishing his PILI Fellowship and starting at Sidley Austin, John has remained active with his pro bono work. Together with other students at the Veterans Clinic, he published an analysis of the Veterans Treatment Court, titled The Illinois Veterans Treatment Court Mandate: From Concept to Success, in Southern Illinois University’s Paul Simon Public Policy Review. The guide will help public officials implement the Veterans Treatment Courts statewide. He is also already working on a Section 1983 pro bono case at Sidley Austin.

“Most immediately, my PILI Fellowship broadened my network,” said John. “Long-term, PILI will keep me engaged in public interest and service to further develop legal skills outside of my immediate practice. Above all, PILI gives my legal practice a sense of purpose – to ensure equal access to justice and equitable outcomes to all.”

Pro Bono Spotlight: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Public Interest Center

Posted on November 3, 2016November 3, 2016 by Lauren Harper

In September, the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law announced the creation of a new Public Interest Center to help foster a culture of service within the law school. The Center will bring together Northwetern’s growing public interest law resources and opportunities, such as loan repayment assistance, guaranteed summer internship funding, public interest fellowship programs, pro bono opportunities and more.

Cindy Wilson, a PILI board member, is serving as the Interim Director of the Public Interest Center, in addition to her work as a clinical professor and the director of the Bluhm Legal Clinic Center for Externships. She says the goal of the Center is to bring all of their public interest resources together to increase efficiency and launch new projects.

“We’re building an ethic of public service in all our students,” she said. “We want to harness and consolidate all the great public interest work that is already happening so that we can think of them as one and use those resources to increase social justice work, connect with alumni, connect with nonprofits and further the cause of social justice.”

The new Center is possible, in part, because of a $100 million gift made by J.B. Pritzker and M.K. Pritzker to the law school last year. One of the goals of that gift was to focus on public service.

“We want to make sure all of our students understand the duty to do public service and the need for it,” Cindy said.

During its first year, the Center will focus on connecting with alumni who are doing pro bono work. Cindy says the hope is to introduce students to the pro bono and public interest projects of Northwestern alumni so they can start to engage in public service early in their careers.

“There are many opportunities for students to get involved in really exciting social justice work, and we want to do more to connect them with alumni doing amazing public interest work,” she said.

The Center will assist students who are working towards public interest law careers, but will also work to increase career-long pro bono activity among students who plan to work in private practice. “That is the only way we are going to make a dent in the social justice problem,” said Cindy.

And while this new Center will have a positive impact on students, Cindy is also excited about the impact it can have on clients and people in need.

“There are so many poor people who don’t have lawyers and I’m excited to use this as a way to help those people,” she said. “I’m excited about the impact we might be able to have in Chicago, around the country and around the world.”

PILI Board Member Spotlight: Traci Braun

Posted on November 3, 2016November 3, 2016 by Lauren Harper

Traci Braun, associate general counsel for Exelon Corporation, first learned about PILI through her involvement in the Chicago pro bono community. She has been active in pro bono throughout her legal career and is the co-chair of Exelon’s pro bono committee. Traci joined PILI’s Board of Directors in 2014 and now chairs the Fundraising and Events Committee.

“I like that it’s a very dynamic board that has a lot of different viewpoints from the legal community represented,” said Traci. “Board members are passionate about increasing access to justice and making pro bono service more available.”

In addition to her work on PILI’s board, Traci also organizes pro bono opportunities for employees at Exelon. She has set up clinics with the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Center for Disability and Elder Law. She is also involved with Wills for Heroes and helps organize a monthly clinic at the Chicago Police Department Headquarters. Her other pro bono activities include work on federal clemency projects, criminal cases and asylum cases and assisting with a death penalty appeal. Currently, she is working on a project with Equip for Equality to help ensure polling places are accessible for people with disabilities on Election Day.

While Traci spends much of her own time serving pro bono clients, she is also focused on cultivating a strong pro bono community in the legal field. “At PILI, we are growing the community of service folks and investing in the next generation of people committed to service.”

PILI Hosts Annual Program on Public Interest Law for Law Students

Posted on October 17, 2016March 16, 2018 by Lauren Harper

Each fall, PILI hosts Explore the Possibilities: Public Interest Law Opportunities for Law Students. This year, the event took place at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis on September 24th and at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law on October 15th.

This program focuses on how to secure a legal aid, public interest law or government position during or after law school. Attendees are law students who are interested in learning more about placements as volunteers, interns, externs, fellows or staff in the public interest law sector.

About 115 students from law schools all over Illinois and the surrounding states attended the two events.

“A program with resources that nurtures my passion for public interest is so beneficial,” said one attendee.

Discussion topics included the basics of getting a public interest career started and planning a public interest job search, preparing for post-graduate opportunities, understanding a government job search and exploring alternative public interest careers. Speakers also gave tips on how attendees could best present themselves and increase their success while looking for a job.

One first year law student said, “This was my first experience hearing about public interest opportunities and it was very informative!”

PILI is so grateful to all the sponsors, attendees, speakers and our law school hosts for supporting this program. You can learn more about Explore the Possibilities and view the 2016 agendas here »

View other Law Student Resources »

Learn more about law student programs at PILI »

Thank You to Brinks Gilson & Lione for Volunteering at Legal Prep Clinic

Posted on October 12, 2016November 18, 2016 by Lauren Harper

Clinic participants (from left to right): Scott Yoo, PILI Board President Brad Lane, Femi Masha, James Stephens, Daniel Parrish, Kyle Yarberry, Sen Wang and PILI Executive Director Michael Bergmann.

PILI is so grateful to the attorneys at Brinks Gilson & Lione who came to volunteer at the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic on Tuesday, October 11th.

This is a monthly clinic hosted by PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council at Legal Prep Charter Academies in conjunction with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. CVLS refers clients from the Garfield Park neighborhood with civil legal matters, and firms with PILI Alumni can adopt an evening of the clinic and volunteer.

This is the second time Brinks has adopted the clinic and we are grateful for their commitment to PILI and pro bono. Seven attorneys, including PILI Board President Brad Lane, volunteered to assist clients and take on cases.

If your firm is interested in adopting an evening of the clinic, please contact Executive Director Michael Bergmann by email or by phone at 312-832-5129.

Learn more about the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic here »

Buy tickets for the PILI Alumni Reunion Reception on November 9th »

Introducing 2016 Board and Alumni Network Leadership Council Representatives

Posted on October 2, 2016October 10, 2016 by Lauren Harper

Every year, PILI chooses two Law Student Interns and two Graduate Fellows from the previous year to serve as representatives on PILI’s Board of Directors and Alumni Network Leadership Council. These representatives serve two-year terms as non-voting members, and can provide the perspective of recent PILIs.

2016 Board Representatives:

Lindsey Schmeidler is a second-year law student at Chicago-Kent College of Law. She did a PILI Internship at CARPLS in the summer and is back at CARPLS doing another PILI Internship this fall.
John K. Adams is an associate at Sidley Austin LLP. He did his PILI Fellowship at The John Marshall Law School Veterans Legal Clinic. He recently graduated from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

2016 Alumni Council Representatives:

Megan Harkins is a student at Loyola University Chicago School of Law working on a dual Masters in Social Work and Juris Doctor degree. She was a PILI Intern at the Legal Council for Health Justice this summer.
Rebecca Canary-King is an associate at Schiff Hardin LLP and she did her PILI Fellowship at LAF. She recently graduated from The University of Chicago Law School.

See a full list of our Board Members »

Learn more about our Alumni Network Leadership Council »

PILI Hosts CLE in Peoria Through Tenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee

Posted on September 28, 2016September 28, 2016 by Lauren Harper

One of the goals of PILI’s Tenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee is to enhance pro bono locally, so on Wednesday, September 28th they offered a half-day of CLEs to do just that. Attorneys from Peoria came to Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, P.C. to focus on different topics to improve their pro bono and private practice.

During the first session, attendees learned about incorporating successful pro bono mentoring relationships into their career. The second session covered an array of probate topics to help attendees feel more comfortable handling minor and adult guardianships, wills and advanced directives. Attendees agreed to take on one additional pro bono matter in the next twelve months.

Session One: Making the Most of Mentoring

Mentoring in the context of pro bono is something that is frequently requested by inexperienced attorneys, or those new to pro bono or a particular area of practice. Mark Palmer of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism discussed a unique long-term mentoring program developed by the Commission in Illinois. He also discussed serving as a mentor as an alternative pro bono opportunity. Attendees received 1.0 hour of MCLE Professional Responsibility credit for this session.

Session Two: Guardianships, Wills and Advance Directives

Probate topics are a significant area of need for low-income individuals and families. This session featured several speakers who explained the process for obtaining a minor or adult guardianship. Speakers also provided an overview on advising your clients in preparing wills and advance directives, which are powerful tools for life planning. Attendees received 3.0 hours of MCLE credit for this session.

Speakers:

James F. Kane, Johnson, Bunce & Noble
Michael A. Kraft, Quinn, Johnston, Henderson, Pretorius & Cerulo
Michele Miller, Prairie State Legal Services
Ann Pieper, Kavanagh, Scully, Sudow, White & Frederick
David L. Wentworth II, Public Guardian and Public Administrator of Peoria County
Marisa Wiesman, Prairie State Legal Services

Special thanks to Prairie State Legal Services who co-sponsored the program with PILI!

Learn more about the Tenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee »

Learn more about the Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees »

PILI to Fund $260,000 in Public Interest Law Student Internship Grants in 2017

Posted on September 27, 2016September 27, 2016 by Lauren Harper

PILI will grant $260,000 to fund 56 Law Student Interns at 27 public interest law organizations across Illinois during the 2016-17 academic year and the summer of 2017.

This is the largest amount of money that PILI has ever committed to Internship funding, and reflects a new school-year Internship position at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. PILI also approved a new agency to host Interns in the summer, the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice. See a full list of agencies in Illinois approved to host PILI Interns »

In addition to growing the Internship Program, PILI is in the process of raising its summer Internship stipend for the first time in 10 years. Starting last summer, Interns receive $5,500, an increase of $500 over previous years. PILI will raise the summer stipend again in 2018, for a total stipend amount of $6,000.

Students apply from law schools across the country to compete for these funded public interest law internship opportunities. PILI Interns work 400 hours during the summer or 200 hours during the school year serving low-income and underrepresented individuals and families with legal needs.

PILI has been operating its Law Student Internship Program since 1977, and it is the only program of its kind that attracts law students from across the country to serve at legal service organizations in Illinois. In addition to providing the funding for Intern stipends, PILI also offers robust educational programming and networking opportunities for Interns. The program helps PILI’s participating legal service agencies serve more clients and increase their impact while also helping law students develop their legal and client interaction skills, build their professional networks, and strengthen their commitment to public interest law and service.

Learn more about PILI’s Law Student Internship Program »

Reed Smith Adopts September Legal Prep Clinic

Posted on September 15, 2016September 15, 2016 by Lauren Harper

Clinic Participants (from left to right): Anne Pitke, Michael Bergmann (Executive Director), Denise Ware (PILI Alum), Jim Rolfes (PILI Board Member), Anthony Todd (PILI Alum)

On Tuesday, September 13th, Reed Smith attorneys adopted the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic in the Garfield Park neighborhood. Reed Smith also adopted the clinic last year and all those attorneys returned to volunteer a second time.

The four volunteers assisted six low-income clients with legal issues such as adult guardianships, divorce and landlord/tenent disputes.

The Alumni Network Leadership Council hosts this clinic on the second Tuesday of every month, and Chicago Volunteer Legal Services refers local clients to meet with attorneys at the clinic.

Law firms with PILI Alumni can adopt an evening of the clinic. If your firm is interested, please contact Executive Director Michael Bergmann by email or by phone at 312-832-5129.

Learn more about the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic here »

Buy tickets for the PILI Alumni Reunion Reception on November 9th »