Getting to Know PILI’s Alumni Network: Connecting with PILIs Past, Present and Future

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Every Monday in April, we will be posting about different aspects of PILI’s Alumni Network as we introduce our Alumni Class Representative.

[button href=”https://pili.org/alumni/alumni-class-reps-emails”]Sign Up to Hear from Your Alumni Class Representatives[/button]

Helping you connect with other PILI Alumni is one of the most important functions of PILI’s Alumni Network. Here are ways you can get plugged in:

WebsiteBe an Advisor to Current Interns and Fellows:

PILI Alumni can serve as Advisors to a current PILI Intern or Fellow, sharing your own insights and experiences to help introduce them to the Illinois legal community and build their professional networks. PILI is recruiting Advisors now for summer 2016. If you’re interested, you can fill out this registration form.

Suggest an Alumni Spotlight or Make a Nomination:

Do you know any PILI Alumni doing amazing pro bono or public interest work? Or, are you a PILI Alum doing amazing pro bono or public interest work? Let us know about it! PILI publishes regular Alumni Spotlights to showcase the impressive and life-changing work our Alumni are doing. PILI also makes nominations for local and national pro bono and public interest awards. We’d love to hear from you about PILI Alumni you think are worthy of recognition. Let us know if you have any ideas, and check out PILI’s past Alumni Spotlights.

PILI also gives out our own Distinguished Alumni Awards at our Annual Awards Luncheon every year in December. The nomination period for 2016 will open in July, so start thinking now about who you think PILI should recognize this year. You can see past award recipients here.

Show Your PILI Pride:

You can update your work bio or your LinkedIn profile to reflect that you’re a PILI Alum. This could help you connect to other PILI Alumni you didn’t even know were in your circles, and to other public interest-minded attorneys who also care about expanding civil legal aid.

Race With Team PILI:

Did you know that PILI has a team at Race Judicata every year in September? Race Judicata is a massive 5K run/walk benefiting Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, and for Alumni in the Chicago area, it’s a fun way to connect, and more active than most other PILI events! We’ll have more information about this event for you in the summer.

Help Us Connect With Future PILIs:

PILI receives hundreds of applications from dozens of law schools across the country for our Internship and Fellowship Programs every year. As a PILI Alum, you can help spread the word about PILI to your alma mater, or to other law schools in your area. You can share information and brochures, represent PILI at career fairs, or offer to do a presentation about your own Internship or Fellowship. Talk to the PILI staff if you’re interested helping with this.

This is the second part of a four-part series on PILI’s Alumni Network. Just tuning in now? See other posts in the Getting to Know the PILI Alumni Network series »

See a list of all upcoming PILI Alumni events »

Read other PILI Alumni news »

Meet the Alumni Class Representatives »

Highlights from 2016 Legal Service Agency Roundtable

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IMG_2950Last week, 24 representatives from PILI’s Participating Agencies joined us for our Legal Service Agency Roundtable at Exelon.

This year, our focus was on strategies for effective supervision. Participants heard from guest speakers Pamela Bozeman-Evans, Senior Director of Career Development & Internships at North Park University, and Lewis Check, Professional Development Manager at Baker McKenzie, along with PILI’s own Executive Director Michael Bergmann, about working with interns, fellows, externs and pro bono volunteers.

These speakers shared their insights on everything from identifying the right fit when hiring to setting expectations and giving feedback in order to create a rewarding professional experience. With PILI’s summer Law Student Internship and Graduate Fellowship Programs upon us, the information and tools they provided were particularly timely and useful.

We are pleased to share the resources from the Legal Service Agency Roundtable here:

Interested in joining this discussion? PILI holds this and other Pro Bono Roundtable events every year. Learn more about our Pro Bono Roundtables and Forums »

You can also join us for our Illinois Forum on Pro Bono in Chicago later this year. More details are coming soon.

Getting to Know PILI’s Alumni Network: Programs & Events

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Every Monday in April, we will be posting about different aspects of PILI’s Alumni Network as we introduce our Alumni Class Representative.

[button href=”https://pili.org/alumni/alumni-class-reps-emails”]Sign Up to Hear from Your Alumni Class Representatives[/button]

All About PILI Alumni Programs & Events:

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PILI’s Alumni Network hosts a variety of regular programs throughout the year, including CLE programs, networking events and fundraisers.

The next event will be Play for PILI: An Evening at Emporium on April 28th at Emporium Arcade Bar in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. This is a fundraiser and also a good chance to connect with other PILI Alumni at a fun venue. Tickets are only $25 on our website »

The Alumni Network is also planning a CLE program, tentatively scheduled for June 28th, on big-scale pro bono partnerships with big-scale impacts. The program will feature a successful partnership between legal aid organizations and law firms that resulted in significant changes for an otherwise unrepresented and very vulnerable population. More information on this will be coming soon – stay tuned!

See a list of all upcoming PILI Alumni events »

Read other PILI Alumni news »

Meet the Alumni Class Representatives »

Introducing PILI Alumni Class Representatives!

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PILI is thrilled to introduce our new PILI Alumni Class Representatives!

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In the 39 years since PILI was founded, over 3,700 people have served as PILI Interns and Fellows. We now have an active and dedicated Alumni Network offering educational, leadership, networking and service opportunities for former PILI Interns and Fellows.

Our 13 new Alumni Class Representatives will help connect these 3,700 Alumni with all PILI’s Alumni Network has to offer.

[button href=”https://pili.org/alumni/class-reps”]Meet our Alumni Class Representatives[/button]

PILI Alumni are at the heart of our mission to cultivate a lifelong commitment to public interest law and pro bono service to expand the availability of legal services for people, families and communities in need. As PILI gets ready to turn 40 next year, we look forward to reconnecting with our extraordinary Alumni through our Alumni Class Representatives!

Do you want to hear from your Alumni Class Representative? Sign up here »

Not in Chicago anymore? There are still lots of ways for you to connect with PILI and benefit from our Alumni Network. Learn more »

Sheila Frederick Joins PILI’s Board of Directors

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Sheila Frederick

Sheila Frederick of United Airlines, Inc. was elected to the Public Interest Law Initiative Board of Directors at their March meeting. Sheila is the first PILI board member from United, where she has worked as Counsel in Labor and Employment Law since 2011.

After graduating from University of Illinois College of Law in 2005, Sheila worked at Winston & Strawn LLP in the Labor and Employment practice group. She had been in human resources prior to law school.

Sheila maintains an active pro bono practice and is a member of United’s Pro Bono and Community Service team. She coordinates the company’s partnership with Equip for Equality’s legal advocacy hotline, and has also worked on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival filings and volunteered on an asylum matter. While at Winston, she volunteered on guardian ad litem cases and provided pro bono legal employment advice to various Chicago nonprofits.

“I am excited to be a part of this board as I enjoy engaging others in pro bono work and look forward to furthering PILI’s mission in this respect,” Sheila said.

PILI’s Board of Directors is currently led by President Richard O’Malley, Jr. of Sidley Austin LLP, and by Vice President Brad Lane of Brinks Gilson & Lione. See a full list of PILI’s board members here »

LAGBAC Renews Named Intern Funding

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PILI is excited to announce that the LAGBAC Foundation has renewed its funding for 2016.

This grant funds two Named Internships, one in the fall and one in the spring, at the National Immigrant Justice Center in their LGBT Immigrant Rights Initiative.

Last fall, LAGBAC funded Caitlin Cervenka from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. This spring, they are funding Caitlin Barlow from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, who said, “I am appreciative of the sponsorship by the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago. I love my internship because it is integral to giving a voice to LGBT immigrants, an incredibly marginalized group who deserves all of the legal advocacy they can get.”

The LAGBAC Foundation’s mission is to improve access to the legal and judicial system for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersexed and questioning persons by giving law students the opportunity to learn valuable, practical legal skills while giving back to our community.

Learn more about the Named and Honorary Interns »

See a full list of our supporters »

PILI Announces New Graduate Fellowship Program Agency

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PILI now offers the Graduate Fellowship Program at the Elder Law & Miscellaneous Remedies (ELMR) Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The ELMR Division hears matters that involve litigants age 60 and older pertaining to the Adult Protective Services Act, the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, domestic violence offenses and certain criminal offenses in which the victim is age 60 or older.

Fellows will have the opportunity to assist the Division with implementing both new and ongoing initiatives, and will work cooperatively with chambers staff and court personnel. They will also help with the day-to-day tasks of

  • Conducting legal research
  • Observing legal proceedings
  • Preparing of legal memoranda
  • Communicating with counsel regarding case management and procedural requirements, and
  • Assisting ELMR Division judges during courtroom proceedings

PILI Fellowship applications are open now. Learn how to apply »

Learn more about the PILI Graduate Fellowship Program »

Quarles & Brady Adopts March Legal Prep Community Law Clinic

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Thank you to Quarles & Brady attorneys Christopher Skey, Leonard Shifflett, Helen Schweitz and An Nguyen (not pictured)!

Thank you to Quarles & Brady attorneys Christopher Skey, Leonard Shifflett, Helen Schweitz and An Nguyen (not pictured).

Thank you to Quarles & Brady for adopting the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic on Tuesday, March 8th! Four volunteer attorneys from the firm, in addition to PILI Alum Laurie Mikva, provided needed pro bono services in housing and family law matters to five clients.

PILI’s Alumni Network hosts the clinic on the second Tuesday of every month in conjunction with Legal Prep Charter Academies and CVLS.

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 »

PILI Alumni Spotlight: Jenna Silver, 2015 Law Student Intern

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Jenna Silver

PILI is delighted to welcome Jenna Silver as our 2015 Intern Representative to the Alumni Network Leadership Council. A former teacher, Jenna decided she wanted to make the world better for her students, so she enrolled in law school at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she is now in her second year. Last summer, she worked as a PILI Intern with Equip for Equality’s Special Education Team, a position that helped her shape her career goals.

“My PILI Internship at Equip for Equality helped me realize that I feel most fulfilled when working directly with clients,” Jenna said. She also felt motivated by the people she worked with. “I loved being surrounded by so many people who care deeply about the greater good.”

Even after her summer PILI Internship ended and fall classes began, Jenna continued with Equip for Equality, building on her skills and seeing her cases through to resolution. She also works part time in the admissions office at Loyola and tutors a 1L class.

She will also compete in the upcoming International Academy of Dispute Resolution (INADR) Mediation Competition. She first realized she was interested in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at one of PILI’s Educational Seminars.

“The summer training that PILI provided about active listening gave me immediate, practical, and useful skills and introduced me to the Center for Conflict Resolution and helped me identify my genuine interest in ADR,” she said.

This semester, she has been serving as a mediator and program extern at the Center for Conflict Resolution, where she will also work as a PILI Intern this summer. She credits PILI with opening her eyes to different career options available for students who want to work on behalf of the public interest.

“As a law student with a deep desire to work in the public interest field, I realized through PILI that the opportunities to help others are not simply limited to working with civil legal aid providers,” she said. “I’ve been really amazed at the role that nonprofit organizations play, as well as the amazing amount of service that pro bono attorneys offer through their work.”

Jenna has been staying involved with PILI through her role on the Alumni Council, and we are grateful for her dedication to our mission and programs. We are excited to see where her law school and public interest law career take her.

Read more PILI Alumni Spotlights »

PILI Alumni Spotlight: Brian Davis, 2015 Graduate Fellow

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Brian Davis

PILI is excited to welcome Brian Davis as the 2015 Fellow Representative to PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council. Brian graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2015, and then completed a PILI Graduate Fellowship at the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic before starting as an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP.

Brian’s Fellowship gave him the opportunity to develop his lawyering skills before he even began to work at his firm. “During my PILI Fellowship, I was in court on behalf of clients 2 to 3 times a day,” he said. “My in-court oral advocacy skills improved dramatically.”

Additionally, Brian launched his active pro bono career through PILI.

“My PILI Graduate Fellowship helped me develop a relationship with a legal aid organization that has given me a platform to continue investing my time and making a difference in my community,” Brian said.

Brian has demonstrated his commitment to pro bono service since beginning his legal career six months ago. He has already worked on six different pro bono matters, and has joined the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic’s Young Professional’s Board in addition to PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council.

Some of his pro bono matters include representing sex trafficking victims seeking to have their criminal records vacated and expunged, advocating for individuals seeking orders of protection from abusive partners, assisting individuals seeking political asylum, and revising licensing agreements for an organization that combats youth homelessness.

“I make an active effort to participate on as many pro bono cases as I can,” he said.

Brian is already a strong force in the pro bono legal community, and we are excited to have him as a Representative to our Alumni Network Leadership Council.

Read more PILI Alumni Spotlights »