Giving Tuesday is November 29, 2022!

Earlier this month, PILI launched our 2022 Giving Tuesday Campaign. Organized by PILI’s Young Professionals Board (YPB), we are asking our networks, supporters and volunteers to help us raise funds to continue our efforts in expanding access to justice across Illinois. In relation to PILI’s 2022 theme: Take the Initiative, we asked PILI staff and YPB members, “What does volunteering mean to you?”  You can see their responses below.

If you want to be involved in increasing access to justice in Illinois, here are a few ways that you can Take the Initiative:

• Support the YPB’s Giving Tuesday Campaign;
• Share your own photo about what volunteering means to you on social media and tag PILI and use the hashtag #TaketheInitiative;
• Text “PILI” to 243-725 any time before or during the 45th Anniversary Awards Gala on December 1st;
• Purchase tickets to attend the 45th Anniversary Awards Gala in-person on December 1st;
• Volunteer through a PILI pro bono opportunity.
• Learn about all the ways to get involved and support PILI.

Thank you for your support of PILI’s work and for joining us as we celebrate Giving Tuesday!

Click here to see the October 2022 PILI Post »

Click here to see the September 2022 PILI Post »

At its July 2022 meeting, the PILI Board of Directors elected new officers for PILI’s next two fiscal years. Daniel Lange of VedderPrice was elected President, Kyle Petersen of Seyfarth Shaw was elected Vice President, Lisa McCraw was elected Secretary, Mark O’Meara was elected Treasurer and John Bourke was elected Immediate Past President. Their terms began on September 1, 2022 and will conclude on August 31, 2024.

Daniel B. Lange, President

Daniel is a shareholder of VedderPrice and a member of the firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits practice group. He was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2009 and most recently served as its vice president.

Daniel has a wide range of legal expertise related to Labor and Employment, corporate transactions, tax law and welfare benefit programs. He represents private and public commercial companies, investment funds, ESOP trustees and employees in building and implementing executive compensation packages as well as broad-based equity and incentive arrangements while identifying related compliance and reporting requirements. Since 2018, Daniel has been recommended in the Legal 500 United States guide in Labor and Employment-Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Transactional category. Daniel was also selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America relating to Employment Benefits (ERISA) law in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022.

As he assumes the presidency, Daniel said, “I am very excited to help our staff and volunteers continue to expand PILI’s reach both in the Chicago area and throughout the rest of Illinois, increasing access to justice for underserved communities and individuals, and expanding the pro bono and public interest opportunities available to attorneys and law students throughout our state.”

Kyle A. Petersen, Vice President

Kyle is a partner in the Wage & Hour Litigation Group at Seyfarth Shaw where she dedicates much of her time to representing employers across the U.S. in court litigation and administrative matters relating to wage and hour laws. Kyle is a PILI Alum, having served as a PILI Graduate Fellow after her graduation from Chicago-Kent College of Law. She joined the board in 2015 and most recently served as secretary.

At Seyfarth Shaw, Kyle provides preventative counseling and works with employers to minimize their exposure to investigation and litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws. Kyle has also represented management against a number of discrimination and harassment claims pertaining to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and more. Kyle’s work has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Illinois Super Lawyers (2009-2013).

Lisa J. McCraw, Secretary

Lisa is Assistant General Counsel of Litigation at Deere & Company and is based in Moline, IL and has been a long-standing pro bono leader at Deere. During Lisa’s tenure as chair of Deere’s pro bono committee, the company was recognized for its significant pro bono legal work in the community with PILI’s Pro Bono Initiative Awards in 2012. She maintains an active pro bono practice of her own, providing counsel to nonprofits in the Quad Cities on corporate governance and contract review. She has also participated in PILI’s Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee’s service projects, including the Volunteer Lawyer Project for tenants facing eviction, and the Wills and Power of Attorney clinic for low-income seniors. Lisa joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2013.

 Mark O’Meara, Treasurer

Mark is a partner with Chapman and Cutler in the Banking and Financial Services Department and is also a member of the Commercial Lending Group. He joined the PILI Board of Directors in 2016.

Mark has a focus on representing financial institutions through structuring and documenting secured and unsecured transactions, loan restructuring and workout transactions. He has experience in asset based lending, project financing, cash-flow lending and more. Mark served in forming and counseling a social impact fund managed by Local Initiatives Support Corporation that provides project loans to acquire, preserve, and improve affordable housing in the Detroit metropolitan area. Mark represented a financial services company in the Pay for Success financing of a new social impact project that aims to address the underlying causes of asthma by providing in-home asthma care and environmental interventions to low-income New Yorkers.

Michael H. Cramer, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer

Michael is a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins and specializes in labor and employee related matters. He was first elected to the PILI Board of Directors in 2017 and has served as PILI’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer since the position was established in 2021.

Michael advises employers ranging from small non-profits to Fortune 500 companies and leads workplace investigations, learning sessions and employee-related litigation. He has extensive experience litigating discrimination, harassment and retaliation cases and wage-and-hour class/collective actions. Michael has achieved Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer review rating (AV), and repeatedly has been named among the Best Lawyers in America, a Leading Lawyer, and an Illinois Super Lawyer. He was elected to The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, an organization of labor and employment attorneys in practice for more than 20 years who meet “the highest professional qualifications and ethical standards.”

John J. Bourke, Immediate Past President

After serving as President for the last two years, John Bourke will assume the office of  Immediate Past President. John has a wide range of corporate legal and business experience gained from Chicago financial institutions including The Northern Trust Company, (JPMorgan Chase predecessors) First Chicago Corporation, First Chicago NBD, Bank One and Aon. Outside of PILI, John focuses on corporate transactions in the cyber risk, security and technology space. John has served on PILI’s board since 2010. Read more about PILI’s accomplishments under John’s leadership »

On September 1st, new leaders took the helm of PILI’s Young Professionals Board, including Judy He of Crowell & Moring who became Chair. Judy is joined by Corinne Biller of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP as Chair-Elect, Bide Akande of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP as Vice Chair and Michael Whalen of Paul Hastings LLP as Immediate Past Chair. Established in 2017, PILI’s Young Professionals Board is a group dedicated to empowering PILI through fundraising and by serving as PILI’s ambassadors in their communities. Members are emerging leaders who have begun their professional careers in the past fifteen years.

Judy He is an associate at Crowell & Moring LLP specializing in Patent and ITC litigation. Judy counsels and litigates intellectual property disputes involving various technologies, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer products and licensing issues. Judy has experience with representing immigrant children seeking special juvenile status and families seeking asylum in affirmative and defensive processes. In 2021, Judy was a recipient of the National Immigrant Justice Center’s Rising Star Award. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Judy was an extern with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, the largest legal program in the Department of Homeland Security.

In addition to handling IP and licensing disputes, Judy has an active pro bono practice and is a volunteer for the ABA’s Free Legal Answers program. She was recognized twice by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service as a Pro Bono Leader for her contributions in 2020 and 2021. Judy has a background in chemistry and finance and is fluent in Mandarin. Judy is a LCLD Pathfinder, and has leadership roles with Women In Bio and the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation. Judy was also recently elected to serve a two-year term on the Board of Managers of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago

As she begins her role as Chair, Judy said, “My journey with PILI started with my PILI Fellowship at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, and I’ve always loved how PILI provided law students and recent graduates with opportunities to learn the importance of pro bono at an early stage of their professional careers and how they can give back to their communities in a meaningful way. As Chair of PILI’s YPB this year, I am proud and humbled to continue supporting PILI’s mission with the rest of the YPB and exploring ways for young professionals of various backgrounds and experiences to help advance access to justice.”

With PILI’s new fiscal year beginning on September 1st, PILI welcomed new leadership for its Alumni Network Leadership Council. Marlow Svatek of Sidley Austin assumed the position of Chair of the Council, joined in leadership with Nidhi D. Narielwala of Norton Rose Fulbright as Chair-Elect, Jill E. Roberts of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts as Vice Chair and Martin Cozzola of BPI as Immediate Past Chair. With nearly 4,500 former PILI Student Interns and Graduate Fellows, PILI’s Alumni Network is led by the Alumni Network Leadership Council, a group of PILI Alumni committed to staying connected to PILI and public interest law, and to giving back to their community.

Marlow Svatek is currently a managing associate in the litigation group at Sidley Austin, with a focus on consumer class actions and appellate litigation. Such cases have included, defending a credit card processing company at trial in litigation arising from a merchant’s data security breach, drafting an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of a medical professional association and defending a large financial institution in a federal class action lawsuit alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. Marlow maintains an active pro bono practice and has represented clients in a variety of cases in federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. In 2020, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) honored Marlow as a “Rising Star” for her outstanding pro bono service in protection of immigrant rights. In 2018 and 2019, she received the firm’s Thomas H. Morsch Award for Pro Bono Achievement in recognition of her work representing asylum seekers in deportation proceedings and challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s “public charge” rule.

Marlow is a “Double PILI” having served as a PILI Law Student Intern at the National Immigrant Justice Center during law school and as a PILI Graduate Fellow at the ACLU of Illinois upon graduation before joining Sidley. As the ACLU, she worked to promote women’s and reproductive rights through impact litigation. Marlow graduated from the University of Chicago Law School with honors, where she was a staffer for the University of Chicago Law Review. She also served in the Peace Corps as a volunteer in Burkina Faso to promote girls’ education and empowerment resulting in Marlow being awarded the United Nation Association’s Leo Nevas Human Rights Youth Advocate Award.

As Marlow begins her role as Chair she stated, “I am looking forward to taking on a greater leadership role with an organization that has given so much to me over the years—first as a PILI Intern at the National Immigrant Justice Center, then as a PILI Fellow at the ACLU of Illinois, and now as a practicing attorney with my own pro bono practice. For so many law students and young lawyers, PILI has laid the foundation for a lifelong commitment to public interest work and pro bono service. I’m honored to lead the Council and help welcome the next generation of public interest-minded attorneys into the PILI Alumni Network.” 

With the start of our new fiscal year, we are excited to welcome two new members of our Board of Directors!

Janelle Ibeling 

Partner at Sidley Austin LLP

A PILI Alum who was a Graduate Fellow after graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School and prior to joining Sidley, Janelle has substantial experience in connection with single relationship/investor funds, managed accounts, investor negotiations and co-investments. She is a provider of advice to investment managers on SEC registration and compliance obligations and best practices. Janelle advises institutional investors in structuring their investments in hedge funds and private equity funds as well as family office investment-related and regulatory matters including family office formation, SEC and CFTC registration, exemptions and related regulatory advice. Janelle was honored at Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s 2022 Salute! Top Women in Law Awards for her leadership in the community, advancement of women in the profession as well as her own professional achievements.  Janelle is a member of the Granting Committee of Help For Children, a global foundation supported by the generosity of Hedge Funds Care and Private Equity Cares, which provides grants to the most effective and efficient child abuse prevention and treatment interventions in six countries.

Kevin A. Thompson

Partner at Levin Ginsburg

Kevin joins the PILI Board of Directors as a representative from the Chicago Bar Association’s Board of Managers, serving as one of two such representatives. Prior to joining Levin Ginsburg as a partner in Levin Ginsburg’s Intellectual Property Practice Group, Kevin practiced in the Chicago area for over 22 years, first with an IP boutique firm, and then with an international IP firm. Prior to attending law school, Kevin worked for the Division of Information Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Kevin has significant experience in helping clients protect their brands around the world and focuses on domestic and international trademark, copyright, privacy, internet law, and domain name issues. Kevin counsels clients in the selection, clearance, and maintenance of trademarks. He advises clients with respect to enforcement of rights, and represents them in disputes around the world to protect their valuable intellectual property. Kevin is Vice Chair for the International and Foreign Law Committee as well as Vice Chair for the Law Practice Management and Technology Committee for the Chicago Bar Association. He previously held the position of Board of Managers for the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago.