This is a guest post from outgoing PILI Board of Directors President, Daniel B. Lange. Daniel is a Shareholder in the Chicago office of Vedder Price and a member of the firm’s Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits practice group. He joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2009, and previously served as Treasurer, Secretary and Vice President before becoming President. As of September 1, 2024, he will serve for two years as our Immediate Past President.
PILI Board Vice President Kyle Petersen (R) presents 2022-2024 Board President Daniel Lange (L) with a plaque to celebrate his leadership and service.
Over the past two years as President of PILI’s Board of Directors, it has been my honor to work with the Board and our staff team to take tremendous strides toward fulfilling PILI’s mission. In the past two years we:
- Hosted our 45th Anniversary Awards Gala, which was PILIs all-time most successful fundraising event.
- Expanded our Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees, and with increased staffing, have been able to divide the state into three regions to further increase our pro bono reach and impact.
- Hosted our first in-person summit of Pro Bono Committee Chairs since the pandemic, allowing PILI, committee leaders and other stakeholders (as well as a few justices from the Illinois Supreme Court) to gather and discuss ways that can make pro bono representation more efficient and successful.
- Celebrated the fifth anniversary of PILI’s becoming the state administrator of Illinois Free Legal Answers.
- Added a significant number of newly funded school year and summer Law Student Interns, drastically increasing the number of legal hours that PILI Interns provide to our partner agencies and their clients throughout Illinois. PILI also increased the stipend paid to PILI Interns twice over the last two years.
- Held the first ever PILI Leadership Reception in September 2022, which was the first time where leaders of PILI’s Board of Directors, Alumni Network Leadership Council, and Young Professionals Board all gathered together to further PILI’s mission.
- Celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of PILI’s Pro Bono Initiative for the New Millennium, the precursor to today’s Pro Bono Program.
- Prepared and adopted a new three-year Long Range Plan that will guide our organization through 2026.
For the sake of brevity, the above are just some of our accomplishments.
I became involved with PILI after the pro bono coordinator at my former law firm asked me to serve on the Board as the firm’s representative, but I have stayed involved because it is a dynamic organization that is rolling up its sleeves and doing the work that is necessary to make Illinois a better place for those without the means to pay for adequate legal assistance.
While I have served on the Board, the PILI team has worked through leadership changes, a global financial crisis, a pandemic, an office relocation, and many other challenges. Nonetheless, the organization remains strong and mission focused. In fact, since I first joined the Board, PILI’s annual budget has more than tripled, and its focus has changed from primarily working with public interest law partner agencies, to becoming an essential part of the state-wide pro bono safety net that tries to ensure appropriate legal representation for all.
None of these accomplishments are mine. Rather they result from the PILI founders’ great vision, and the hard work of all who have joined the cause throughout our history, particularly PILI’s excellent and dedicated staff.
I look forward to a bright future for PILI and the rest of the Illinois public interest law community. It is my honor and privilege to have served as President of the Board, and to continue working with everyone at PILI.