Alumni Spotlights
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Stephanie Dykeman, 2004 Fellow
“Not only was it an incredible experience for me as a lawyer, as I was able to do a direct examination and the closing argument, it was also incredibly personally rewarding to assist a family in turmoil with such a difficult matter.”
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Katie Deibert, 2004 Fellow
“I believe an important part of being a lawyer is protecting the rights and interests of those who often do not have the resources to be heard. As a law student I participated in pro bono activities and worked with asylum seekers and refugees through my school’s immigration clinic. In private practice I have represented an asylum applicant and also worked on financing supportive housing projects.”
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Susan DeCostanza, 2007 Intern
“My fondest memory from participation in the PILI programs is generally the relationships that I built. It was inspiring to work with dedicated attorneys and I have also kept in touch with the other law students with whom I interned.”
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Kathy Clark, 1997 Intern
At our 2011 Annual Awards Luncheon PILI presented a Distinguished Alumni Award to Kathleen K. Clark, Executive Director of Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, who served as a PILI Intern in the spring and fall of 1997 at the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU and at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
PILI Alumni Spotlights: Jean Choi, 1992 Intern
“The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee opened my eyes that I could be an advocate in so many ways, that I could change the landscape of the law. You do not have to be passive when you see something is unjust, you can be an advocate for change in a meaningful way. It just clicked with me.”
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Honorable Edmond Chang, 1994 Fellow
In December 2010, the Senate unanimously confirmed Edmond Chang as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Chang began service on the court in early January 2011, and was at that time the youngest federal judge in the nation.
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Adela Carlin, 1999 Intern
The PILI Internship experience gave me an opportunity to see and hear about passionate advocates for social justice about their experiences.
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Nichole Cain, 2005 PILI Intern
“My PILI Internship solidified my inclinations that I ultimately wanted to be a public interest attorney. It was my first experience actually interacting with clients, researching issues for public interest legislation, and witnessing a large class action.”
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Paul Brown, 1992 Fellow
Paul says that “because of my positive PILI Fellowship experiences, when I entered private practice I did quite a bit of pro bono work at Kirkland, including the extended representation of a client in a multi-year prisoner civil rights case and have continued doing pro bono as an in-house lawyer.”
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Barbara R. Barreno, 2011 Fellow
“From the first day of my Fellowship, I was given a great amount of responsibility and had access to clients so I could immediately apply my skills to the organization’s cases.”