Dedicated to the public interest from the start, Betsy served for seven years as a staff attorney and legal director for the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities – the same organization where she completed her PILI Internship in 1981, before joining the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights where she now directs the Bias Violence and Fair Housing Projects.
Service Opportunities with PILI Alumni Network
Each year, PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council organizes service projects in partnership with PILI’s Participating Agencies to maintain the connection between PILI’s and the public interest law community. We are excited to share details with you about the following opportunities and events and we hope you will join us!
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Cheryl Lawrence, 2007 Intern
“It is truly an honor to work with great people and know that many of our most vulnerable neighbors here in Chicago, who would otherwise be at great risk of homelessness, are now on a better path because of the services we provide.”
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Mario Sullivan, 2004 Intern
“I think it is important that everyone get involved and help end bullying, but I believe lawyers are in the best position to make a difference. Our profession has a history of making a difference and changing the nation for the better of all its people. The legal profession needs to take the next step in ending bullying.”
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Emily Coffey, 2013 Intern Representative
“Little justice is available for tenants who are often living in some of the worst conditions in Chicago. Working with these tenants to get relocation assistance or negotiating with banks so that they can stay in their apartments and get the necessary repairs done has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had at LCBH.”
Alumni Spotlight: Emily Seymore, 2009 PILI Intern
Emily Seymore is the leader of the Alumni Fundraising Team of the PILI Alumni Network Leadership Council and was an Intern at LAF working on their their Public Benefits Hotline.
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Johnny Frevert, 2010 Intern
“I decided to move to Chicago and practice law in Illinois for the very reason that there are so many gifted attorneys committed to the goal of making sure that everyone has access to the law and not just those who could afford a retainer agreement.”
PILI Alumni Spotlight: Rachel Fleischmann, 1998 Intern
“Working as a PILI Intern was an overall very positive experience that encouraged me to continue in public interest. It also exposed me to a different type of public interest work than I had previously experienced, so it showed me the diversity of choices available in the public interest legal world.”
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.