PILI Receives Renewed Support from Several Foundations
PILI has recently received renewed funding from several funders. We are so grateful for their continued support of PILI’s mission to engage, inspire and empower those advancing equal access to justice.
DuPage Bar Foundation
The DuPage Bar Foundation has granted PILI $1,500 to support both the Pro Bono Program and Law Student Internship Program in DuPage County. The DuPage Bar Foundation serves as the charitable arm of the DuPage County Bar Association providing charitable contributions, law school scholarships, opportunities for community service and assistance for members in need.
Illinois Access to Justice
PILI is thankful for the support in the increased amount of $127,174 from Illinois Access to Justice for PILI’s statewide Pro Bono Program. Illinois Access to Justice is a state-wide grant program that seeks to mitigate the devasting consequences of all forms of detention and incarceration, resulting in crippling effects on historically marginalized communities. PILI uses pro bono legal services to fill gaps in the availability of civil legal aid for low-income Illinoisans, including individuals and families impacted by incarceration who have nowhere else to turn for help. Through an innovative range of pro bono opportunities, we engage volunteers to meet unmet legal needs across the state.
Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network (IL-AFLAN)
PILI is grateful to the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation for their increased grant of $50,000 to support PILI’s ongoing participation in the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network (IL-AFLAN). IL-AFLAN provides civil legal services across Illinois to veterans, active-duty military, their spouses, and dependents. Through IL-AFLAN, PILI is responsible for accepting referrals through the Network and placing them with pro bono attorneys in 101 counties in Illinois, excluding Cook County. PILI recruits volunteer attorneys, provides training and support, and offers malpractice coverage.
Illinois State Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division
PILI received renewed support of $6,500 from the ISBA YLD Children’s Assistance Fund to support the ISBA YLD Named Law Student Intern in Summer 2025. Through this fund, the ISBA YLD, in concert with the Illinois Bar Foundation, seeks to provide grants to organizations across the state related to children and law. PILI is grateful to the ISBA YLD for its longtime support of PILI and our Law Student Internship Program.
Jerome Mirza Foundation
The Jerome Mirza Foundation renewed its grant to PILI $35,000 to support our efforts to expand and enhance public interest law and pro bono service in Illinois outside of Chicago. Jerome Mirza, a 1963 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, was a leader in the field of trial advocacy and in the legal profession throughout his long career. This grant supports PILI’s Law Student Internship Program across the state, as well as the work of our Pro Bono Program to promote and expand pro bono across Illinois.
Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois
In addition to its regular funding of PILI, the Lawyers Trust Fund (LTF) approved a grant for PILI in the amount of $60,000 as part of its 2025-2026 Strategic Opportunity Grant. The grants are intended to support projects or purposes in three broad categories related to LTF’s strategic objectives for strengthening the legal aid system in Illinois: Community Justice Initiatives, Justice Innovation Initiatives, and Organizational Development. PILI is extremely grateful to LTF for its substantial support of PILI and our work.
Polk Bros. Foundation
PILI is grateful to the Polk Bros Foundation for its two-year grant totaling $77,000. This grant continues the Polk Bros. Foundation’s longstanding support of our Law Student Internship Program. PILI is so thankful to the Polk Bros Foundation for its generous support of PILI and the Law Student Internship Program.
Thank you to these and all of our supporters!
Call for Nominations for PILI Awards
PILI Alumni Award presented to Priya Desai (left) by Jill Roberts, Chair of PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council (right).
Nominations are open for PILI awards to recognize attorneys and legal programs making outstanding contributions in pro bono and public interest law across the state of Illinois. For each award, you can either submit a self-nomination or nominate a colleague.
The submission deadline for award nominations is Friday, September 4th. Follow the links below to submit your nomination.
PILI Annual Awards
Every year, PILI presents several awards to acknowledge lawyers and legal programs whose dedication to service, fairness, and justice inspires us and makes us proud.
- The Distinguished Public Service Award honors an individual whose commitment to public interest work has shaped a career dedicated to service in Illinois.
- The PILI Alumni Awards recognize one former PILI Law Student Intern and one former PILI Graduate Fellow as a rising star or for a noteworthy career in the public interest law sector or for their impactful pro bono work. Not sure if someone is PILI Alum? Email us to confirm.
- The Pro Bono Initiative Award acknowledges a single entity for its significant pro bono work in Illinois.
These awards will be presented at PILI’s Annual Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, December 9, 2026.
See a list of past annual award recipients »
Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee Awards
Five of the Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees are giving circuit-wide pro bono awards to one or more lawyers who have provided outstanding pro bono services to low-income individuals and charitable organizations in their respective judicial circuits.
- Bond and Madison Counties should make a nomination for the Third Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Service Awards.
- Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Edgar and Vermilion Counties should make a nomination for the Fifth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Service Awards.
- Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie and Piatt Counties should make a nomination for the Sixth Judicial Circuit Community Legal Services Award.
- Marshall, Peoria, Putnam and Tazewell Counties should make a nomination for the Tenth Judicial Circuit Joseph A. Dailing Pro Bono Service Award.
- DuPage County should make a nomination for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Service Award.
- DeKalb and Kendall Counties should make a nomination for the Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Service Award.
These awards will be presented at each Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee’s Pro Bono Week event in October. More details on Pro Bono Week 2026 events is coming soon.
If you have questions about any of these awards, contact Michael Bergmann at 312-832-5129 or by email.
Thank You for a Successful 2025 Annual Pro Bono Reception
PILI Board Immediate Past President Daniel Lange, President Kyle Petersen and PILI Attorney Program Manager Andrea Schrader at the 2025 Annual Pro Bono Reception.
On June 25th, PILI held our Annual Pro Bono Reception celebrating the inspiring and life-changing pro bono work being done throughout Illinois thanks to effective pro bono programs, innovative partnerships, and the unwavering dedication of individual attorneys and legal professionals.
We had an incredible turnout, and it was wonderful to connect with so many of our supporters and friends - from our Law Student Interns and Graduate Fellows to members of our leadership entities, to representatives from our Participating Agencies to pro bono volunteers from across the state. We are especially grateful to our generous event sponsors for their support of PILI and our Pro Bono Program!
At the event, we presented our 2025 Pro Bono Recognition Roster and our Pro Bono Honor Roll. The Pro Bono Recognition Roster honors law firms and corporations that have made significant commitments and contributions to pro bono throughout the state of Illinois by providing legal assistance to individuals, families and communities in need. Those recognized through our Honor Roll have been chosen by PILI staff for their volunteer contributions through the pro bono opportunities available through PILI’s Pro Bono Program.
Thank you to our Sponsors!
PILI thanks the below law firms and corporations for generously sponsoring our 2025 Annual Pro Bono Reception!
as of June 25, 2025
Justice Sponsors – $7,500
Magistrate Sponsors – $5,000
Illinois Supreme Court Approves MCLE Credit for Pro Bono Pilot Project through Illinois Free Legal Answers
As of July 1, 2025, you can request Illinois MCLE credit for pro bono work through Illinois Free Legal Answers. You must submit a form to PILI in the same month after you close a question on the site to request credit.
On April 1, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Supreme Court Executive Committee on the Practice of Law (Executive Committee) announced the adoption of a proposal to amend Supreme Court Rule 795(d) effective July 1, 2025 to establish the MCLE for Pro Bono Pilot Project in an effort to help to address unmet legal needs in Illinois.
The MCLE for Pro Bono Pilot Project creates a two-year pilot project wherein Illinois attorneys can receive Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit for providing pro bono legal assistance through Illinois Free Legal Answers, for which PILI is the state administrator. The pilot project will allow an attorney to earn 1 hour of MCLE credit for every 2 hours of pro bono participation with Illinois Free Legal Answers, up to 5 credits per 2-year MCLE reporting period.
Illinois Free Legal Answers is a secure website where low-income Illinoisans can ask a lawyer for help with a civil legal issue. Volunteer lawyers then log onto the site at their convenience and answer questions waiting in the queue. It is a virtual walk-in legal clinic. A project of the American Bar Association, Free Legal Answers was created to increase access to advice and information about non-criminal legal matters for those who cannot afford legal assistance. It is now active in 41 jurisdictions within the United States, including Illinois. Since August 2019, PILI has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of Illinois Free Legal Answers, including volunteer recruitment, management, training and support. Over 16,000 civil legal questions have been answered on the site since PILI became the state administrator.
Though other states have allowed attorneys to receive continuing legal education credit for pro bono work, the pilot is the first time it has been allowed in Illinois. According to PILI Executive Director Michael Bergmann, “We are grateful to the Court and the Executive Committee for their commitment to increasing access to justice for those who cannot afford an attorney, and we are pleased to work with them on this pilot in hopes that with the help of the Illinois legal community, we will be able to help more Illinoisans get the help they need.”
During the pilot period, PILI and the Executive Committee will regularly review the data to determine whether CLE credit increases volunteerism and adds value to the legal profession by expanding professional development, and most importantly, the pilot will provide a demonstrable framework for how to broaden initiatives to help people most in need.
PILI Announces its 2025 Pro Bono Recognition Roster
On June 25, 2025 as part of our Annual Pro Bono Reception, PILI will recognize the 36 law firms and corporations named to the 2025 Pro Bono Recognition Roster.
The Pro Bono Recognition Roster honors law firms and corporations that have made significant commitments and contributions to pro bono throughout the state of Illinois by providing legal assistance to individuals, families and communities in need.
Congratulations to those named, whose substantial pro bono contributions are making a difference in addressing the legal needs of low-income and underrepresented Illinoisans!
2025 Pro Bono Recognition Roster
Baker McKenzie
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
BP Products North America Inc.
Butler, Giraudo & Meister, P.C.
Chapman and Cutler LLP
Charles River Associates
Cooley LLP
Crowell & Moring LLP
Dentons US LLP
Eversheds Sutherland
Exelon
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Jenner & Block
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Lane & Waterman LLP
LexisNexis
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Mayer Brown LLP
McDonald’s Corporation
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Much Shelist
Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
Nixon Peabody LLP
Pepping, Balk, Kincaid & Olson, Ltd.
Perkins Coie
Reed Smith LLP
Relativity
Ropes & Gray LLP
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
State Farm
Winston & Strawn
Zurich North America
Four Volunteers Named to PILI’s 2025 Pro Bono Volunteer Honor Roll
As part of our Annual Pro Bono Reception on June 25, 2025, we will celebrate those named to PILI’s Pro Bono Volunteer Honor Roll. Those recognized through our Honor Roll have been chosen by PILI staff for their volunteer contributions through the pro bono opportunities available through PILI’s Pro Bono Program. We are so grateful to these extraordinary volunteers whom we regularly rely on to help individuals, families and communities in need.
The four volunteers named to PILI’s 2025 Pro Bono Volunteer Honor Roll are:
Gregory B. Jumbeck
Reich, Jumbeck, Stole & Reeb, LLP
Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network (IL-AFLAN)
What motivates you to do pro bono?
In the realm of divorce, too many people go unrepresented. To be able to assist by engaging in pro bono work allows me to give back to the community that I live in, as well as work in.
Why do you think other people should do pro bono?
I believe that others should also perform pro bono services because the reward can be greater than that working on a case generating fees as the client is appreciative, as well as frankly the court. Plus, getting to use my expertise for someone who would not otherwise be able to afford my services, but clearly is in need of them, gives me great personal pleasure.
Why do you like to do pro bono through PILI and IL-AFLAN why is it important for you to have a pro bono role with PILI?
Working with PILI through its IL-AFLAN pro bono opportunity has allowed me to feel a true sense of giving back professionally, especially to a former service member, to help him do what is best for his family. To be able to give back and work with those who sacrificed and put themselves on the line is very personally rewarding.
Karen Kapela
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
Illinois Free Legal Answers
What motivates you to do pro bono?
I’ve always done pro bono work but not on a set, regular basis. With the COVID pandemic, most of the in-person opportunities dried up. I was inspired by an internal email to commit to some amount of pro bono during Pro Bono Week. With Illinois Free Legal Answers, I committed to myself to answer one question a day for a week, then a month, then a year. That was October 2023, and I’m still going today. It’s both a habit at this point and an addiction almost in that I know people are waiting for someone to listen and provide guidance.
Why do you think other people should do pro bono?
I enjoy starting my day by answering one or two questions (sometimes I hit my limit and have to wait to answer more!). It’s a great way for others to dip their toes into the pro bono pool – it takes me 10-15 minutes most days and I love knowing I made a daily difference. At first, I was worried about helping people with really personal issues but realized we all have life experiences, and I would encourage someone to just try to answer one question, just one and then another.
Why do you like to do pro bono through PILI and Illinois Free Legal Answers and why is it important for you to have a pro bono role with PILI?
We all face challenges in life and have moments when we need help. I like that I’m giving back to others, just like others did for me. I hope to help people when they need it most and to make them feel seen and understood as they are going through a challenging time. I would love for one day to open the site and have no question waiting to be answered!
Paul Wieck
Bennett, Schroeder & Wieck
Pro Bono Clinics
What motivates you to do pro bono?
Coming from a family of teachers and preachers ingrained a commitment of service to those in need of help on life challenges. As I have grown older, I have recognized helping make someone’s life better is that “one thing” (from the movie “City Slickers”) that creates my joy and self-value.
Why do you think other people should do pro bono?
Not only is the need for it there but the reward of positive impact for another is surprisingly exponential.
Why do you like to do pro bono through PILI and why is it important for you to have a pro bono role with PILI?
PILI provides not just opportunity but also the structured assistance and support. The growth of PILI’s work and resources has grown substantially since my involvement, and I am so grateful to be able to assist that continued growth.
Angela Wille
Madison County Law Library
Self-Represented Litigant Help Desks
What motivates you to do pro bono?
I am motivated by the human impact of this work. Many of the self-represented litigants I assist each day are navigating what is likely one of the most difficult times of their lives. The appreciation they express for the work I do is a reminder of how meaningful even small efforts can be. Being able to provide support in these moments is both humbling and rewarding.
Why do you think other people should do pro bono?
Access to justice shouldn’t depend on a person’s financial situation, and pro bono service helps narrow the gap. Pro bono work has the potential to make a significant and lasting impact on someone’s life, not just in outcomes, but in how people experience the legal system.
Why do you like to do pro bono through PILI and why is it important for you to have a pro bono role with PILI?
PILI connects me with opportunities to serve more people who might otherwise struggle to navigate the legal system on their own. Through PILI, I’m able to contribute to the shared mission of equal access to justice.
PILI Welcomes Allison Cain to the Team
Allison joined PILI as our Senior Manager for Operations & Administration in June 2025 after serving in that role on an interim basis since January. In this role, her responsibilities include financial management & development, operations & administration, and human resources.
Allison is seasoned not-for-profit and human resources/operations professional with over thirty years of experience. Most recently, Allison was the principal of Able Consulting providing human resources expertise and serving in interim leadership roles for non-profit organizations. Prior to that, she served as the Managing Director of Lifeline Theatre from 2009 to 2021. She has experience leveraging strategic human capital capabilities to maximize resources and deliver results by achieving sustained improvements in organizational performance. Allison is a certified DiSC® practitioner with a focus in talent effectiveness design, development and facilitation of one-on-one coaching and training workshops for individuals and organizations.
As a human resources professional, Allison worked for companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Willis Towers Watson, ProActive, Recruiter.com and Felix Global. As a consultant, she worked with organizations such as Porchlight Music Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Steep Theatre, Theatre Squared, Lifeline Theatre, The League of Chicago Theatres and the League of Regional Theatres. As an actor, she has performed in over 50 shows in Los Angeles, Connecticut, Chicago, Edinburgh, Michigan and New York primarily focusing on new work. She received her training at Carnegie Mellon University and Columbia College.
Allison can be reached by email or at 312-832-5124.
PILI Welcomes our Summer 2025 Law Student Interns and Graduate Fellows
PILI Law Student Interns & Graduate Fellows at the May 28th Orientation
On Wednesday, May 28th, PILI welcomed its 112 summer 2025 PILI Law Student Interns and Graduate Fellows and kicked off its Summer Educational Seminar Series with a daylong orientation. Law Student Interns and Graduate Fellows participated in person and also virtually. The orientation and weekly sessions are being generously hosted by DePaul University College of Law.
This year, orientation included an in-person Self-Represented Litigant Simulation that had Interns and Fellows try to navigate common processes of the civil legal system, like procuring SNAP benefits or getting an eviction moratorium, from a Self-Represented Litigant’s perspective based on the reality of someone living in poverty and experiencing housing insecurity and the court system. This simulation gave Interns and Fellows a sense of the real barriers and struggles those navigating the court system face every day. By making explicit factors like unconscious bias, procedural fairness, and the difficulty of navigating the court system without guidance, Interns and Fellows learned how small problems can compound quickly into devastating consequences when the system doesn’t support you.
PILI Alumni Network Leadership Council member, Abigail Van Hook and PILI Senior Managing Attorney, Jessica Schneider assist Interns & Fellows at the Self-Represented Litigant Simulation
Interns and Fellows also were presented with educational sessions throughout the day with topics such as: Getting to Know the Communities You Serve, Writing for Public Interest Law, Conflict Management and Social Justice Strategies & the Power of Direct Representation, Policy Work and Impact Litigation. In-person participants were also able to choose one of three concurrent breakout sessions to attend including A View from the Bench: How to Be an Effective Advocate, Effective Client Interviewing and Transactional Lawyering for Social Impact. The program was a success with the help members of PILI’s Alumni Network, public interest legal professionals and judges who presented these sessions throughout the day.
This summer, PILI’s Law Student Interns and Graduate Fellows will collectively generate an additional 39,700 hours of legal assistance. As PILI Executive Director Michael Bergmann stated when addressing the Interns and Fellows, “You are the future leaders of our noble profession. Today, you pick up the torch from those who came before you. You join them in the fight to make our nation’s guarantee of equal justice under law a reality for all.”
Of our Law Student Interns this summer, 23 will hold Honorary, Memorial or Named Internship positions, which are created and funded by individuals and groups dedicated to promoting public interest law service and supporting PILI’s Law Student Internship Program. We are grateful to the individuals and groups who make it possible for Interns to provide legal services for people, families and communities in need. Read more »
Our thanks to all who participated and contributed to the educational programming which serves as a start for our Interns and Fellows to grow from throughout the summer. We hope these sessions will better prepare our Interns and Fellows for their summer positions as well as their lifetime of public interest law and pro bono service.
Learn more about the PILI Educational Seminars »
Meet our current class of Interns and Fellows »
View past seminars on PILI’s YouTube channel »
Are you a public interest law intern or fellow in Illinois this summer? Sign up for updates and register for our Summer Educational Seminar Series here »
If you have questions about PILI’s Law Student Internship, Graduate Fellowship Programs or our educational programming, contact Alex Schumacher by email.