PILI Graduate Fellowship Positions Available

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Are you interested in being a PILI Fellow?

Join the Summer 2015 class of new associates dedicated to pro bono! PILI’s Graduate Fellowship Program places new associates from Chicago law firms at legal service agencies, where they work 300 hours during the summer or fall before starting at their firms. Since 1983, the Graduate Fellowship Program has been making a significant impact on the agencies where Fellows work, on the clients Fellows serve, and on the Fellows themselves.

PILI Fellowships are still available at the following legal service agencies:

Access Living
AIDS Legal Council of Chicago
AIDS Legal Council of Chicago (Medical Legal Partnership for Children)
AIDS Legal Council of Chicago (SSI Homeless Outreach)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
BPI
Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic
CARPLS
Catholic Charities Legal Assistance
Center for Conflict Resolution
Center for Disability & Elder Law
Center for Economic Progress
Centro Romero
Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Chicago Legal Clinic
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
Citizen Advocacy Center
Cook County Office of the Public Guardian
Council on American-Islamic Relations
DePaul University College of Law Clinical Programs
Domestic Violence Legal Clinic
Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic
Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest
Equip for Equality
Family Defense Center
Federal Defender Program
Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy
Illinois Legal Aid Online
Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship
James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy
John Howard Association of Illinois
John Marshall Fair Housing Clinic
LAF Chicago
Lambda Legal
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation
Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender
The Law Project
Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing
Lawyers for the Creative Arts
Legal Aid Society
Life Span Center for Legal Services & Advocacy
Loyola University Business, Community Law & Child Law & Tax Centers
LUCHA
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Immigrant Justice Center
Northwestern University Bluhm Legal Clinic
Prairie State Legal Services
Roger Baldwin Foundation – ACLU
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Working Hands Legal Clinic
Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights

In order to apply for a specific Fellowship position, you will need to register on IllinoisProBono.org before you can submit your application. There is an approval process for IllinoisProBono.org that can take up to 24 hours (longer on weekends and holidays). After registering and receiving approval, you may apply online.

As each agency completes its hiring, they will be closed in our online application system and no longer visible to applicants. Depending on when you apply, you may not find all of the agencies listed here in the online application system. Learn more about how to apply for PILI’s Fellowship Programs.

Contact PILI Education & Outreach Manager Katie Pieper for help with the online application system for PILI Interns & Fellows.

More about PILI’s Graduate Fellowships »

2014 Distinguished Public Service Award: Diana C. White, LAF

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White 2013Diana is the Executive Director of LAF, the largest and most comprehensive provider of free legal aid to low-income Cook County residents in civil matters. She has been with LAF since 1997, when she started as Deputy Director for Special Projects and Teams, and became the Executive Director in 2007.

Diana’s commitment to providing high-quality legal services to low-income residents of Cook County comes during a time of tightening budgets and exploding need. As Executive Director, Diana successfully spearheaded LAF’s move into one new downtown office location and created specialized practice groups, a new Client Screening Unit, and a new Community Engagement Unit. Diana has looked outside the legal aid “box” for help with strategic planning and business process analysis.

Diana received her J.D. with honors from The University of Chicago, and clerked for Hon. Walter J. Cummings, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit before going into private practice. She was a partner at Jenner & Block and represented many pro bono clients, including prisoners, children with disabilities and their families, and deaf and hearing-impaired people in the workplace. Her extraordinary legal work in support of LAF’s complex litigation and cases on appeal earned her LAF’s Equal Justice Award in 2000. In 2010 Diana was honored as a Legal Legend by the Chicago chapter of the American Constitution Society, and in 2012 she received the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois’ Esther Rothstein Award. Diana is a past member and president of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, a member of the Board of Advisors for the Chicago chapter of the American Constitution Society, and a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, the Chicago Bar Association, and the Chicago Council of Lawyers.

Learn about the recipients of PILI’s other 2014 Awards »

2014 Fellow Alumni Award: Andrew Vail

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highres_Andrew Vail_7137Andrew is a partner at Jenner & Block, where he is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department. He came to the firm in 2003 after graduating from the University of Illinois College of Law with honors and serving a PILI Fellowship at LAF.

Andrew co-chairs Jenner & Block’s Pro Bono Committee, and has dedicated more than 5,000 hours to pro bono matters. In one case, Andrew co-led the Jenner & Block team that recently received the Distinguished Service Award from the Korean American Bar Association for obtaining a jury verdict of not guilty for Hyungseok Koh in a high profile murder trial in Cook County that involved important issues of language and cultural differences. Andrew was also a member of the Jenner & Block trial and appellate team that worked with the Center on Wrongful Convictions to represent Juan Rivera, who had been wrongfully convicted in Lake County, and following a successful appeal, was released after spending 19 years in prison.

Andrew is frequently recognized for his commitment to the community, pro bono work, and the organized bar. He was awarded the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Pro Bono Award and the CBA/CBF’s Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award, and has earned recognition from the Tibetan Alliance of Chicago, the Australia Bar Association, and the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago (CRFC). He was profiled in a 2012 National Law Journal article naming Jenner & Block to its “Pro Bono Hotlist.”

Andrew currently chairs the CBA’s Federal Civil Practice Committee, and serves on the Board of Directors for the ISBA Journal, the CRFC, and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Law School. He previously served on PILI’s Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Criminal IPI Committee. Together with Tom Sullivan, Andrew frequently writes and speaks on issues related to criminal justice issues, and has testified before legislative bodies across the country on these topics.

Andrew received a BA in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He recently founded the Henry Owl Scholarship Fund, which recognizes Henry Owl, the first person of color to be admitted and graduate from UNC, and provides funds to need-based undergraduates majoring in American studies at UNC.

Learn about the recipients of PILI’s other 2014 Awards »

Read more PILI Alumni Spotlights »

2014 PILI Intern Alumni Award: Matthew Jenkins

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Jenkins-5905Matthew Jenkins is a trial lawyer at the Chicago law firm of Corboy & Demetrio where he has practiced personal injury law since 2008. Matt also heads Corboy & Demetrio’s Pro Bono Department. Matt served as a PILI Intern at LAF in 2005.

Matt handles and tries complex, significant and high-profile cases, and he is proud of the work he does on behalf of those clients. He is equally as proud of his cases that don’t make headlines, involving those often without a voice and without access to quality legal representation.

Among the numerous pro bono cases he’s handled, Matt provided legal services for a disabled woman living in a subsidized housing unit that posed an imminent threat to his client’s health and well-being. He also helped a young woman who suffered from serious physical and cognitive disabilities secure modifications to her residence to ensure accessibility. In another case, Matt represented the parents of a profoundly disabled girl and secured the protections and services the girl was entitled to from CPS.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Matt received his Juris Doctorate degree in 2007 from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he was recognized for both his academic achievements and his commitment to public service. In 2013, Matt was named to “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” by Law Bulletin Publishing Company.

In addition to his pro bono work, Matt is active in other forms of public service. He currently serves as Member Service Manager in the Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Division and sits on its Executive Committee. He also sits on the CBA’s Auxiliary Board of Lawyer’s Lend-a-Hand to Youth. He serves as Co-Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and sits on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Committee. Matt is Past President and a current Member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Disability & Elder Law. In 2012, at the age of 30, Matt was the youngest Board President in CDEL’s history. Matt is a Co-Chair of the Young Alumni Committee of the Alumni Board at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Learn about the recipients of PILI’s other 2014 Awards »

Read more PILI Alumni Spotlights »

2014 Pro Bono Initiative Award: Dentons US LLP

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Dentons_Logo_Purple_4CDentons has a long and proud tradition of serving the community. With approximately 2,600 lawyers and professionals in more than 75 locations in over 50 countries across the globe, Dentons serves the public interest through pro bono legal services, partnerships with nonprofit organizations, community volunteerism, environmental sustainability projects and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Dentons has played key roles in several ground-breaking class actions on behalf of disadvantaged communities in Illinois. In Ligas v. Hamos, Dentons attorneys worked more than 9,000 hours over six years to dramatically expand living options for thousands of individuals with developmental disabilities. Dentons also serves as lead counsel in Colbert v. Quinn, for which Dentons attorneys devoted thousands of hours to ensure the ability of 20,000 Medicaid recipients in Cook County nursing homes to move into the community and have all services and housing costs covered. In the ongoing case of Rasho v. Walker, Dentons attorneys are lead counsel in an important effort to improve the treatment and conditions for seriously mentally ill Illinois prisoners.

Dentons was one of the founding law firms that created a collaborative pro bono legal clinic at the Cook County Domestic Violence Division. Then, when Dentons realized that petitioners were being wrongly denied orders of protection, Dentons helped form the Domestic Violence Appellate Project, a collaboration among Dentons, Allstate Insurance Company, LAF, and the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic. The Appellate Project has accepted five matters so far, and has secured relief for several clients through successful appeals or motions for reconsideration.

The American Lawyer recently recognized Dentons with the 2014 Global Citizenship Grand Prize for its environmental work in Cambodia. With the assistance of local counsel, Dentons counseled the Cambodian Forestry Administration on an avoided deforestation project for the northwestern province of Oddar Meanchey. Dentons negotiated the terms for the Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement that would allow the sale of carbon credits essential for funding the project and delivering high impact emissions reductions. Over the course of the project’s 30-year lifespan, a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 7.1 million metric tons will be achieved, generating a significant income stream for the 58 villages and 13 community forestry groups who are involved in protecting the Oddar Meanchey’s forestland.

Learn about the recipients of PILI’s other 2014 Awards »

View all of PILI’s past Pro Bono Spotlights »

PILI Welcomes New Alumni Network Leadership Council Members

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PILI is delighted to announce that along with the 2014 Intern and Fellow Representatives, seven new members have recently joined our Alumni Network Leadership Council.

New Members of the Alumni Network Leadership Council

      • Sarah Ansari, Jenner & Block
      • Alex Campbell, Mosher & Associates, LLC
      • Katie Deibert, Mayer Brown LLP
      • Cedric Gordon, Chapman and Cutler LLP
      • Jonathan Hunt, Mayer Brown LLP
      • Kyle Palazzolo, Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal
      • Liz Tracy, Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2014 Council Intern Representative
      • Taylor Whitten, Foley & Lardner LLP, 2014 Council Fellow Representative
      • Laura Young, Kominiarek Bresler Harvick & Gudmundson, LLC

PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council is currently chaired by Elizabeth Lewis of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, and by Vice-Chair Kate Costello of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.  See a full list of PILI’s Council Members »

The Council will be meeting in early December for strategic planning. Stay tuned for upcoming Alumni events in 2015!  See a full list of PILI’s Alumni Events »

Have questions about or wish to join PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council? Contact PILI Education & Outreach Manager Katie Pieper by e-mail or by phone at 312-832-5128 for more information.

PILI Alumni Network Service Opportunity: Legal Prep Community Law Clinic

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legal prep schoolThe PILI Alumni Network is partnering with Legal Prep Charter Academies and Chicago Volunteer Legal Services to offer the Legal Prep Community Law Clinic,  a community-based clinic for the student families and neighbors of Legal Prep in the Garfield Park neighborhood.

PILI Alumni can help families of Garfield Park and Legal Prep students address critical legal needs like eviction, consumer debt, foreclosure, adult/child guardianship, and more. With the support of CVLS staff, PILI Alumni volunteers will have the opportunity to provide pro bono services on all civil, non-fee generating, non-class action cases.

Upcoming Volunteer Training:

CVLS is offering training for  attorneys interested in volunteering at the clinic. The training session is being offered on two different occasions prior to the launch of the Clinic. The first training was on November 20th from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. and the other is scheduled for December 9th from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m, and will be held at the CVLS office in downtown Chicago. The Clinic will take place at Legal Prep from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month, starting on Tuesday, January 13, 2015.

[button href =”https://pili.org/alumni/legal-prep-community-law-clinic”]Learn more and sign up »[/button]

 

For more information or to find out more ways to get involved in the PILI Alumni Network, please contact PILI’s Education & Outreach Manager, Katie Pieper by e-mail or by phone at 312-832-5128.

Application Period Now Open for Spring 2015 Internships

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The application period opened on November 1st for 2Ls and 3Ls wishing to apply for a PILI Internship this spring.

PILI is offering spring Internships at the following agencies:

Learn more about PILI’s school-year Internship opportunities and how to apply »

Pro Bono Spotlight: Pro Bono Week in Illinois

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PILI’s Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees celebrated National Pro Bono Week, October 19-25, 2014, with special events across the state »
 
The Third Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee held a Celebrate Pro Bono Luncheon on Tuesday, October 21 in Edwardsville, Illinois. With special guest speakers Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier of the Illinois Supreme Court and James M. Lestikow, President of the Illinois Bar Foundation, attendees applauded the 96 attorneys in the circuit who had done pro bono in the last year through Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation or Catholic Charities. A special award was presented to Tanja M. Cook of Lueders, Robertson & Konzen LLC for her outstanding pro bono service.

Learn more about PILI’s Third Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee »

The Fifth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee hosted its 3rd annual Pro Bono Week Celebration on Tuesday, October 28 in Paris, Illinois. Illinois Appellate Court Justice Lisa Holder White delivered keynote remarks. This event recognized 50 area attorneys who have provided pro bono legal services in the last year through Land of Lincoln, and presented special awards to pro bono leaders in each circuit. The Fifth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee also posthumously presented an award to Karen Fuqua for her outstanding pro bono service, providing significant legal assistance to those in need.

Learn more about PILI’s Fifth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee »

The Sixth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee offered a special pro bono CLE program entitled “Limited Scope Representation: A New Tool in Your Private and Pro Bono Practice” on Thursday, October 23 in Savoy, Illinois with David Holtermann, General Counsel at the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, presenting. This event also marked Pro Bono Week with the posthumous presentation of the Committee’s Community Legal Services Award to Kurt Froehlich of Evans, Froehlich, Beth & Chamley. Attendees also acknowledged the 86 attorneys in the circuit who had taken pro bono cases with Land of Lincoln in the last year.

Learn more about PILI’s Sixth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee »

The Tenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee held a Celebrate Pro Bono Reception on Monday, October 20 at the Caterpillar Visitors Center in Peoria, Illinois. With special guest speakers Justice Thomas L. Kilbride of the Illinois Supreme Court and Chief Judge Stephen A. Kouri of Illinois’ Tenth Circuit, this event honored several distinguished award recipients as well as the 108 attorneys in the circuit who have done pro bono through Prairie State Legal Services in the last year.

Learn more about PILI’s Tenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee »

The Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee, in partnership with Prairie State Legal Services, provided a training for attorneys interested in participating in its Volunteer Lawyer Courthouse Project on Friday, October 24 in Rock Island. Through this project, pro bono attorneys provide legal representation to tenants facing eviction. Volunteers work at the Rock Island County Courthouse on Fridays providing legal advice and, if necessary, negotiating settlements. This Committee also released a list recognizing all of the attorneys in the Fourteenth Circuit who have taken a pro bono case through Prairie State Legal Services in the last year.

Learn more about PILI’s Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee »

 

View all of PILI’s past Pro Bono Spotlights »

PILI Alumni Spotlight: Kyle Shires, 2014 PILI Fellow

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web_res_Kyle_C_Shires_5894Kyle Shires is the newest Fellow Representative to PILI’s Board of Directors.  Last summer, Kyle served as a PILI Fellow at Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO), sponsored by Jenner & Block. He worked on several projects involving ILAO’s educational websites for legal aid providers and pro bono attorneys.  Website topics ranged from landlord-tenant laws to expungement and sealing.  Kyle chose to do a PILI Fellowship because he wanted to learn how to balance the demands of his career as a corporate lawyer at Jenner & Block with his desire to serve his community. He has a sincere passion for the mission of ILAO, and wishes to continue “making pro bono work a significant part of my practice, which shouldn’t be difficult given Jenner’s well-known commitment to pro bono work.”

Kyle has fond memories of his participation in the PILI Fellowship program, particularly how his Fellowship at ILAO increased his awareness of the network of legal aid attorneys and organizations that support the Illinois community. For an attorney embarking on a career which will definitely include pro bono work, this information was invaluable to Kyle.  Both at ILAO and at Jenner & Block, Kyle says he has been introduced to a group of amazing and passionate people who inspired him to view public service as a moral civic duty. “Without my PILI Fellowship experience,” Kyle explains, “I would not have gained this perspective, which significantly shaped the way I view our profession.” Kyle also joined Team PILI last September at Race Judicata, a charity race to support Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.

Prior to his PILI Fellowship, Kyle worked as a Summer Associate at Jenner & Block during law school at the University of Illinois College of Law, where he had the opportunity to work with a partner to create an instructional guide about Illinois Supreme Court rules and legislation affecting family law. This experience helped him greatly during his Fellowship at ILAO and as a full-time Associate at Jenner & Block.  Kyle is involved in several community organizations, including the Korean American Bar Association of Chicago (KABA) and the Global Business Brigades (GBB), which assists small businesses in impoverished communities.  In addition to serving as a Representative on PILI’s Board, Kyle also recently joined the Young Professionals Board of ILAO, continuing his involvement with his Fellowship organization.

Despite his busy professional and volunteering schedule, Kyle finds free time to play basketball, travel, and connect with the people he met at ILAO and through PILI.  His reason for wanting to serve as a Representative on PILI’s Board? “The PILI Fellowship was an amazing learning experience for me,” he states. “I wanted to help ensure that future Fellows had an experience similar to mine. I couldn’t think of a better way to stay involved than service as the Fellow Representative.”

Read more PILI Alumni Spotlights »