PILI is excited to welcome nine spring semester Law Student Interns who will work at public interest law agencies in Chicago during the spring semester. School-year Interns work 200 hours part-time during the semester with PILI providing a living stipend, as well as ensuring quality supervision by experienced attorneys and providing extra educational, networking and advising opportunities.
This program helps Interns launch successful public interest law careers while also helping the Intern’s agency increase their impact. PILI Interns work on a wide and diverse range of issues depending on the agency where they serve and the issues that agency addresses. In addition to direct client services, PILI Interns also work on transactional matters, such as policy development and analysis, advocacy, impact litigation, and more.
Five of the spring semester Internship placements are made possible by special funding commitments from organizational champions for public interest law:
Andersen-O’Brien Named Intern
Elizabeth Toth from DePaul University College of Law is the Andersen-O’Brien Named Intern at the Legal Aid Society. This Internship is generously funded by Judge Wayne R. Andersen (Ret.) and Justice Sheila M. O’Brien (Ret.) because of their strong commitment to public interest law and, specifically, to the work and mission of Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services.
Baker Mckenzie Intern
Molly Sennet from Loyola University Chicago School of Law is the Baker McKenzie Intern at Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA). Baker McKenzie has a longstanding commitment to ensuring access to justice for all of those in need, and funding a school-year Internship placement at Cabrini Green Legal Aid through PILI further supports this tradition of service.
Chicago Bar Foundation Intern
Carl Sessions from Chicago-Kent College of Law is the Chicago Bar Foundation Intern at Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing. As the charitable arm of the CBA, the Chicago Bar Foundation brings the legal community together to improve access to justice for people in need and make the legal system more fair and efficient for everyone.
LAGBAC Intern
Joanna Martin from Chicago-Kent College of Law is the LAGBAC (Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago) Intern at the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) in their LGBT Immigrant Rights Initiative. 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.
Mary C. Russo Memorial Intern
Emmanuel Almaraz from DePaul University College of Law is the Mary C. Russo Memorial Intern at MALDEF. This Internship is funded by Mary’s children to honor the memory of their mother who died in 2014. Mary was the consummate volunteer, contributing to her community in many ways, including forming the Office of Volunteer Resources for her city, Virginia Beach, Virginia. She served as Director of this office for 37 years, and also chaired many volunteer initiatives focused on education, mental health, drug abuse, and the court system, among others.
Meet all our current & recent Law Student Interns »
Learn more about Named & Honorary Interns »