Katie is an Associate at Mayer Brown LLP, where she works in the firm’s banking and finance practice and also spent a year working in Mayer Brown’s Frankfurt, Germany office. She was a PILI Fellow at the downtown office of the Chicago Legal Clinic, working primarily on matters related to bankruptcy and domestic issues. Katie now serves on PILI’s Board of Directors and is a leader in PILI’s Alumni Program. Katie believes that her experiences as a PILI Fellow have offered her a unique perspective and firsthand insight into the public interest side of Chicago’s legal community. Although she is a transactional attorney and does not necessarily use the specific legal skills she developed as a PILI Fellow, Katie believes that the introduction to so many people in the Chicago legal community is something from which she continues to benefit. Katie explains, “PILI provides connections to both the public and private sectors of legal service in Chicago and I think it’s important to understand how both can work together.” She also recognizes the importance of PILI’s mission of cultivating a lifelong commitment to public interest law. Katie states, “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.”
Originally published May 2009 Read more PILI Alumni Spotlights »