2015 Distinguished Public Service Award: Chief Justice Rita B. Garman

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2013 Justice Rita B GarmanChief Justice Rita B. Garman has served on the Supreme Court of Illinois since 2001 and as Chief Justice since October 2013. She began practicing law in Danville with the Vermilion County Legal Aid Society. Later, she became an Assistant State’s Attorney and then entered private practice in Danville. She eventually held every possible
position in the judiciary, and is the first Chief Justice to have done so. Chief Justice Garman is only the second woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court and is presently the longest serving female judge and second longest-serving judge in Illinois.

A champion of public interest law and strong advocate for pro bono, Chief Justice Garman believes that pro bono service is not only admirable, it is a professional and societal obligation. She has also been very supportive of PILI’s Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees, helping promote pro bono legal services around the state.

Frequently recognized for her contributions, Chief Justice Garman is a past recipient of the Harold Sullivan Award for Judicial Excellence from the Illinois Judges Association and the Spirit of Lincoln Award from the Abraham Lincoln Association. Chief Justice Garman is a member of the Vermilion County Bar Association, the Illinois
State Bar Association, the Iowa State Bar Association, and the Lincoln-Douglas Inn of Court, and is a graduate of the University of Illinois and the University of Iowa College of Law.

“In her journey from legal aid lawyer to Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Rita Garman has embraced public service. She has
opened doors for other women lawyers, encouraged judges to improve their skills, and led efforts to make the justice system in our state more fair. Chief Justice Garman inspires everyone who values the Rule of Law.”
– Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis

Learn about the recipients of PILI’s other 2015 Awards »

PILI Mourns the Passing of Roger Pascal

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PILI Life Director Roger Pascal, 74, passed away on Sunday, December 27, 2015 in Evanston, IL. Roger joined PILI’s Board of Directors representing Schiff Hardin in 1987, serving as President from 1997-1998, and later being named a Life Director.

Roger embodied a lifelong commitment to serving those in need through over 50 years of volunteer work with PILI, the ACLU, the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy and other legal service organizations and clinics. We extend our condolences to Roger’s family, and are thankful for his great example of volunteerism and years of service.

You can read Roger’s full obituary here.

Make a gift to PILI this holiday season

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IMG_6554Be a part of supporting PILI’s mission to cultivate a lifelong commitment to public interest law and pro bono service within the Illinois legal community to expand the availability of legal services for people, families and communities in need!

2015 was a big year for PILI. We’ve seen huge growth in both our Law Student Internship and Graduate Fellowship Programs. Our Alumni Network and our Pro Bono Initiative launched new educational and service projects across the city and across the state. We are increasing the number of law students and lawyers engaged in public interest law and pro bono service, and we’re giving them the skills and support they need to really make a difference in their communities.

“Being able to put my legal knowledge to use to help others is so rewarding!” one of our Interns told us this summer. “Thanks for an amazing Internship experience!” And one of our Fellows said that “because of this experience, I think that I will always have an active pro bono practice.”

Looking forward, 2016 will be even bigger for PILI. Significantly, we are raising our summer Law Student Intern stipend for the first time since 2005. Increasing our stipend will ensure that PILI continues to attract high-caliber law students, and that Interns participating in the program will be able to cover their basic living expenses. On top of this, we have also committed to increasing our Law Student Internship allocations by another 15%.

We need your help to achieve these goals! 

Text “PILI” to 243725 or make a donation on our website. Thank you for your support!

Aharon Kaye and Cindy Wilson Join PILI’s Board of Directors

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At its meeting on November 18, 2015, the PILI Board of Directors elected two new members: Aharon Kaye, a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, and Cynthia Wilson, a clinical professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Aharon KayeA graduate of DePaul University College of Law, Aharon Kaye was a 2007 PILI Graduate Fellow at the DePaul University Center for Justice in Capital Cases. He then went on to work at Katten Muchin Rosenman, where he is now a partner focusing on litigation and dispute resolution. With a strong commitment to pro bono, Aharon has represented clients in wrongful conviction cases, as well as individuals seeking assistance through the Center for Disability and Elder Law and the Settlement Assistance Program conducted by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Cindy Wilson, Northwestern Law faculty, April 10, 2013Cindy Wilson is a Northwestern Pritzker School of Law alumna. Before coming to work at the law school, she clerked for the Honorable Seymour Simon and worked as a corporate litigation attorney at Sachnoff & Weaver and as the Employment Opportunity Project Director at the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. In her current position as the Clinical Professor and Director of the Bluhm Legal Clinic Center on Externships, she teaches courses in public interest law and the federal judiciary.

PILI’s Board of Directors is currently led by President Richard O’Malley, Jr. of Sidley Austin LLP, and by Vice President Bradley G. Lane of Brinks Gilson & Lione. See a full list of PILI Board Members »

PILI Celebrates One Year of the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic

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Reed Smith at Legal Prep Edited

In January of 2015, the PILI Alumni Network Leadership Council partnered with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) and Legal Prep Charter Academies to establish the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic, a monthly clinic for student families, neighbors of Legal Prep in the Garfield Park neighborhood and other low-income clients from around the city.

As we conclude the clinic’s first year, PILI is happy to report on its successes:

  • 26 attorneys have volunteered at the clinic, including PILI Executive Director Michael Bergmann and PILI Program Manager Katie Pieper, who serve as co-coordinators for the clinic.
  • 31 community members have made appointments and met with attorney volunteers.
  • 20 clients have received assistance from pro bono attorneys.
  • 3 law firms each adopted a clinic date and PILI Alumni from those firms volunteering at the clinic. Thank you to:

Brinks Gilson and Lione
Reed Smith LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP

  • A variety of legal issues have been addressed, including, but not limited to:

Adoption
Child support modification
Contract & warranty disputes
Divorce
Eviction from both landlords and tenants
Minor and adult guardianship

News PostThe volunteers themselves have had an overwhelmingly positive experience. As one PILI Alum said, “Working at the clinic and being able to help people in need reminded me of why I became a lawyer in the first place.”

PILI coordinates this monthly clinic, which will continue next year on the second Tuesday of every month, except in July and December. PILI has invited law firms that participate in its Graduate Fellowship Program to “adopt” a clinic date with PILI Alumni from the firm serving as pro bono attorneys at the clinic. If your firm is interested in adopting a clinic date, please contact Executive Director Michael Bergmann by email or by phone at 312-832-5129.

Other PILI Alumni who are interested in volunteering can sign up at one of the following event pages:

Thank you to everyone who volunteered and helped coordinate the first year of the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic! We are excited to continue this program next year.

Thank You to Kirkland & Ellis LLP for Adopting the November Legal Prep Community Law Clinic

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Legal Prep LogoSix attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis LLP volunteered at the November Legal Prep Community Law Clinic, the monthly community-based clinic for the student families and neighbors of Legal Prep in the Garfield Park neighborhood. Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS), Legal Prep Charter Academies and PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council are partnering to provide the Law Clinic, and law firms with PILI Alumni can adopt an evening of the clinic.

Special thanks to Kirkland & Ellis LLP attorneys and staff who volunteered last night, including David Milligan, Michael Wright, Edwin del Hierro, Shirley Chen, David Palay, Elise Tincher and PILI Alumni Network Leadership Council Vice Chair Jordan Heinz.

PILI coordinates this monthly clinic, held on the second Tuesday of each month except in July and December. PILI has invited law firms that participate in its Graduate Fellowship Program to “adopt” a clinic date with attorneys from the firm who are former Fellows serving as pro bono attorneys at the clinic. If your firm is interested in adopting a clinic date, please contact Executive Director Michael Bergmann by email or by phone at 312-832-5129.

Learn more about the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic »

PILI Alumni Spotlight: Amanda Walsh, 2015 Law Student Intern

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Walsh, Amanda March 2015 (glasses v1)The staff and Board of Directors at PILI are excited to welcome Amanda Walsh to the Board as the 2015 Intern Alumni Representative. PILI appoints one Intern and one Fellow every year from the most recent class to serve on the Board for a two-year term. Amanda was a PILI Intern in the spring at the Roger Baldwin Foundation – ACLU of Illinois.

Amanda says her experience as a PILI Intern enhanced her career in two main ways: “First, my specific Internship experience rounded out my understanding of the different ways law can be used as a tool to improve the circumstances of a family’s life: direct representation, legislative reform, and class actions,” Amanda said. “Second, my PILI Internship allowed me to access a broad public interest network of attorneys in Chicago.”

At the ACLU-IL, Amanda conducted research and drafted memos on a number of topics such as Department of Justice investigations and the Privacy Protection Act. She was also able to observe meetings with a federal expert panel that was selected to determine how to improve placements and services provided by the Department of Children and Family Services under a class action case filed by the ACLU-IL.

“Before my PILI Internship, my experience in both the legal and social work fields was focused mostly on direct representation and policy change through legislation,” Amanda says. “I had limited exposure to using class actions as a tool for social change. It was an incredible honor to witness the efforts of the ACLU-IL trigger such broad reforms, helping thousands of children at once.”

Amanda graduated from Loyola University Chicago School of Law last spring, and she also holds a Masters of Social Work. She currently works as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Legal Council for Health Justice, where she will establish the Family Preservation Project (FPP) to tackle the social determinants of health and family instability faced by children with mental illness through a medical-legal partnership model. Amanda is personally invested in helping this underserved population. Due to parental mental illness when she was growing up, Amanda was placed in foster care as a youth. This experience inspired her to make a difference for families in situations like hers.  Her project aims to provide preventative legal care through direct representation, community outreach, technical assistance, and policy advocacy.

While Amanda has always been extremely passionate and determined, she says her PILI Internship gave her necessary skills to accomplish her goals. “PILI provided me with additional support and experience to complete my legal education and prepare me for my current work as an Equal Justice Works fellow,” Amanda says. “In five, ten, fifteen years and beyond, I plan to continue serving and fighting for this vulnerable population and I am so thankful to PILI for helping me start my career.”

Read more PILI Alumni Spotlights »

PILI Alumni Spotlight: Sarah Schultes, 2015 PILI Graduate Fellow

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Sarah HeadshotThe staff and Board of Directors at PILI are excited to welcome Sarah Schultes, a first year associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, to the Board as the 2015 Fellow Alumni Representative. PILI appoints one Intern and one Fellow every year from the most recent class to serve on the Board for a two-year term. Sarah recently finished her PILI Fellowship at the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice. Sarah is a double PILI, having also worked as a Law Student Intern at the Legal Council for Health Justice (formerly known as AIDS Legal Council) in 2013.

“My fondest memories are of getting to know the great people I met at both organizations and the relationships that I continue to have with them,” Sarah says.

During her Internship at the Council for Health Justice, she assisted individuals in securing public benefits and researched the effects of the Affordable Care Act on individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Illinois. Afterwards, she went back to The University of Chicago Law School and worked at their Criminal and Juvenile Justice Project at the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic. This clinic provides legal representation to poor children and young adults accused of delinquency and crime. After graduation, she started working as a Graduate Fellow at the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, an independent research and advocacy organization seeking to make the courts fairer, as well as more efficient and accessible. Sarah assisted in researching a number of court-related issues and drafted proposals for legislation and Illinois Supreme Court Rules.

“The exposure to different types of public interest work, and getting to meet attorneys across the city that are committed to public interest work really opened my eyes to all of the opportunities that exist in Chicago,” says Sarah. She is also grateful for the breadth of experience she gained. “My experiences at two different organizations highlighted the diversity of legal needs that exist for low-income individuals and the importance of all attorneys – whether at large firms or small organizations – giving time to help these individuals.”

Sarah is committed to giving her time to pro bono work and serving those in need. Although she has only just started at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, she hopes to take on a pro bono case before the end of her second week.

“I can say with certainty that my experience as a PILI has had a positive impact on my law school experience, and on my choices about where to work upon graduation,” she says.

Read more PILI Alumni Spotlights »

PILI Pro Bono Spotlight: Allstate Insurance Company

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Allstate LogoSix years ago, Allstate’s corporate legal department created a formal pro bono program as part of a company-wide focus on community and diversity programs. Up until then, attorneys had volunteered on their own, but Allstate wanted to formally commit to pro bono service. Essential to their program was the creation of partnerships with area legal service agencies, such as the Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL) and Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA), to support as many volunteer initiatives as possible.

Chuck Smith, a senior attorney at Allstate who heads up their pro bono efforts, is extremely proud of these relationships. “We’ve been able to get so many people engaged in helping others,” he said.

Allstate supports CDEL by volunteering at their clinics for low income seniors who need to set up powers of attorney and living wills. Additionally, Allstate attorneys are trained to volunteer at the CGLA Expungement Help Desk as a resource for people who are trying to clear their criminal records. Allstate volunteers even had a few clemency petitions granted under the previous governor.

“Allstate Insurance Company has been an invaluable partner in providing pro bono attorneys to offer CGLA’s life-changing services.” says Gretchen Slusser, Executive Director of CGLA. “Sixty-five Allstate attorneys have participated in expungement training and staff shifts at the Daley Center and Markham Help Desks and an additional 15 clients were represented in clemency proceedings before the Prisoner Review Board.  Fifty-eight active volunteers have given more than 1000 hours of pro bono services, traveling from Allstate’s offices in Northbrook to the Daley Center and Markham courthouse each month to staff our Expungement Help Desks and meeting with clemency clients.”

While Allstate volunteers do a lot of good for the community and the clients they serve, Chuck says there are three main ways that a formal pro bono program has enhanced office culture.

  1. Job Satisfaction

Pro bono work gives people “a real sense of accomplishment,” says Chuck, adding that pro bono clients shower their attorneys with appreciation. “Our attorneys just feel a great sense of pride from their pro bono work,” he says. “It sends a message that they are valued.”

  1. Developing New Skills

“Pro bono gives people a chance to get out of their comfort zone,” says Chuck. He says that working through the uncertainty and unpredictability they experience in their pro bono work can help attorneys excel in their jobs. “In a corporate legal environment where people need to take on new tasks,” he explains, “pro bono work can be a source of confidence that people can succeed.”

  1. Team Building

Pro bono can be a good team building exercise. “On a corporate level, we do a week of volunteer activity in May to give back to the community,” Chuck explains. “This provides a good opportunity for a group of people to work and volunteer together and build relationships. It is collaborative and fun.”

In these ways, Allstate demonstrates how a formal pro bono program can benefit everyone: the attorneys, the legal agencies and the clients they serve.

View all of PILI’s past Pro Bono Spotlights »

PILI Board Member Spotlight: Sarah Bernstein

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Sarah BernsteinSarah Bernstein is the Secretary of PILI’s Board of Directors, and serves on the Executive and Fundraising & Events Committees while also chairing the Long Range Planning Committee. She first got involved with PILI in 2008, when her firm, Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP, was starting to formalize their pro bono program. As co-chair of the firm’s pro bono committee, she joined PILI’s Program Planning Team, and a year later in 2009, she was elected to the Board.

Barack Ferrazzano’s pro bono program has grown significantly in the last several years. The firm gives attorneys and paralegals up to 100 hours per year of billable hour credit for working on pro bono. In addition, the pro bono committee, where Sarah still serves as a member, has partnered with several agencies so that, among other matters, firm attorneys and paralegals handle guardian ad litem cases through Chicago Volunteer Legal Services and immigration cases through the National Immigrant Justice Center.

While Sarah volunteers a lot of her time with PILI, she does other volunteer work as well. She does pro bono legal work for and serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors at the North Lawndale Employment Network, an organization that provides comprehensive training and job placement for residents of the North Lawndale neighborhood. Unique in its focus, this organization trains formerly incarcerated individuals by hiring them at Sweet Beginnings, which makes and sells all-natural, honey-based skin care products. Individuals who go through the program have a better chance at employment and future success.

PILI is grateful to Sarah for her leadership on our Board. “I really enjoy being on the Board with so many other attorneys committed to pro bono,” she said. “I feel good about the fact that we are making a difference for people who need pro bono services.”

Read more PILI Board Member Spotlights »