Claire Gould, Operations Coordinator
Shana Heller-Ogden, Development & Communications Manager
Katie Pieper, Education & Outreach Manager

    

Lee Ann Russo of Jones Day Honored for Her Service to PILI
At its July 24, 2014 meeting, the PILI Board of Directors acknowledged  2012-14 PILI Board President, Lee Ann Russo of Jones Day, for her leadership and service to PILI. Lee Ann has served on PILI's Board of Directors since 2006, serving as its President since 2012. Lee Ann's term as president will conclude on August 31st and she will be succeed by Richard O'Malley of Sidley Austin LLP. Click here to read more.

PILI Welcomes New Operations Coordinator
Claire Gould joined PILI as its Operations Coordinator in June, 2014. She most recently served as the  Office Manager for DePaul University's Office of Undergraduate Admission since 2010. Prior to that, she served for three years as a Project Assistant for DePaul University's Driehaus College of Business. From these roles, Claire brings experience in office management, marketing, event planning, and working with students. Claire holds a Master of Nonprofit Management from DePaul University's School of Public Service and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Performance from Miami University.

PILI Welcomes New Members to its Board of Directors
PILI recently added several new members to its Board of Directors. John Amberg of Northern Trust was elected in May. In July, two new members were elected who are Alumni of PILI's Graduate Fellowship Program, David Callahan of Latham & Watkins and David Scriven-Young of Peckar & Abramson P.C. Also joining the Board of Directors are Karina Ayala-Bermejo of Metropolitan Family Services, Traci Braun of Exelon Corporation and Jonathan Jennings of Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson LLP. PILI is thrilled to welcome these new members to our Board, and is grateful for their leadership and willingness to serve.

PILI's Annual Pro Bono Reception A Great Success
On Wednesday, June 18th, over 250 members of the Illinois legal community gathered together in celebration at PILI's Annual Pro Bono Reception. Representatives from law firms, corporations, law schools, PILI's Participating Agencies and the Class of 2014 Interns & Fellows were on hand for this special event, with Illinois Appellate Justice Michael B. Hyman as our guest speaker. Thanks to our very generous sponsors, and congratulations to those law firms and corporations recognized on our 2014 Pro Bono Recognition Roster. Mark your calendars: the 2015 Annual Pro Bono Reception will be held on Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at the Ivy Room at Tree Studios. Check out the photos from this year's event.

PILI is Now Accepting Nominations for its Annual Awards
Every year at our Annual Awards Luncheon, PILI presents several awards to acknowledge lawyers and legal programs whose dedication to service, fairness, and justice inspires us and makes us proud. On December 3, 2014, PILI will present the Distinguished Service Award, the Pro Bono Initiative Award, and two PILI Alumni Awards. Nominations can be made online now through September 5th. Click here to learn more.

Baker & McKenzie Increases Support of PILI for New Law Student Intern Position
Already one of PILI's most significant law firm supporters, Baker & McKenzie LLP has increased its funding of PILI to specifically support a new 2014 Fall Semester Intern. The Baker & McKenzie Intern will be placed at the Center for Disability & Elder Law over the fall semester. With this new Internship allocation, PILI has grown its Law Student Internship Program by 31% since 2011. We are so very thankful to Baker & McKenzie for its longstanding and generous support of PILI!

Support PILI with a fiscal year-end gift!
PILI's 2014 fiscal year comes to a close on August 31st. In the last year, with support from donors like you:

• We supported 60 summer and school-year Law Student Interns, as well as 65 Graduate Fellows, who all together provided over 40,000 hours of legal services to over 4,000 legal aid clients across the state.
• We launched and grew Pro Bono Committees in six judicial circuits in Illinois through our Pro Bono Initiative Program, raising awareness of the need for pro bono, creating new pro bono opportunities, and expanding the availability of legal services for people living in those circuits.
• We engaged our Alumni Network with new service projects and leadership opportunities, helping them stay connected and committed to public interest law and pro bono service.

There are many ways you can support PILI, including making a gift online, joining one of our Giving Circles or attending an upcoming PILI event. Thank you for your support!

      
A Look at the 2014 Class of PILI Interns & Fellows

42 Law Student Interns and 65 Graduate Fellows who will have provided nearly 37,000 hours of legal work this summer through PILI's Participating Agencies. With the support of several foundations, associations and law firms as well as alumni and individual donors, PILI was able to designate 13 Named and Honorary Interns this year. As a supplement to the work they are doing, PILI hosts a weekly Educational Seminar Series for our Interns & Fellows each summer and welcomes all law student interns in the Chicago area. This summer's series has featured several seminars on substantive law topics related to public interest law, like benefits for Veterans, protections for people who are homeless in Chicago, and the rights of farm workers in Illinois, as well as seminars on career development issues and a Judge's panel. The 2014 Summer PILI Interns & Fellows have also shared with us the impact their experience has had on them. Read what the Interns & Fellows have to say about their experience. 

PILI Announces 2014 Fall Semester Law Student Internship Allocations
PILI has announced $17,500 in grants to seven Participating Agencies to support Law Student Interns during the 2014 fall semester. Those agencies that will host fall Interns are: Coordinated Advice Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS), Center for Disability & Elder Law, Chicago Legal Clinic, Inc, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, Equip for Equality, LAF Chicago, and the National Immigrant Justice Center. Chicago-area law students are invited to apply for these positions through our online application system as of August 1st. 

     

Alumni Wanted! Leadership Opportunities with PILI's Alumni Network Now Available 
Service Opportunities with PILI Alumni Network

Each year, PILI's Alumni Network Leadership Council organizes service projects in partnership with PILI's Participating Agencies to maintain the connection between PILI's and the public interest law community. We are excited to share details with you about these opportunities and events - including a pro bono training and opportunity through Domestic Violence Legal Clinic and a PILI Alumni team and tent at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services' Race Judicata. We hope you will join us! Click here to read more.   

 

Mark Your Calendars! 2014 Alumni Reunion Reception: October 29

PILI will hold its 5th Annual Alumni Reunion Reception on Wednesday, October 29th from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Chicago French Market, located at 131 North Clinton Street. This event brings together PILI Intern and Fellow Alumni from across PILI's history to make new connections and celebrate PILI's Internship and Fellowship Programs.  Proceeds from the event will support a PILI Alumni Named Intern for the summer of 2015. Additional information is available on our website and ticket sales will also be available there soon.

  

Alumni Spotlight: Charles P. Golbert, 1990 Fellow
As the Deputy Public Guardian in charge of the adult guardianship division of the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian, Charles Golbert has made public service a focal-point of his career for the past 23 years. He oversees all aspects of the office's guardianship services for its 800 adult wards with disabilities, including legal and social services and management of nearly $100 million in collective ward assets. His current work echoes the work he did as a PILI Fellow with the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian and the firm now known as Katten, Muchin and Rosenman. His Fellowship offered him a more robust understanding of the Juvenile Court system, including researching and writing appellate briefs. Charles credits his PILI Fellowship for introducing him to a career in public interest law. "It's fair to say that I owe my career to PILI," he states, but Charles also continues to support PILI as an active and engaged member of the PILI Alumni Network Leadership Council. Click here to read more.

      

Alumni Spotlight: Betsy Shuman-Moore, 1981 Intern

Betsy Shuman-Moore has been committed to public interest work from the start of her career, starting with a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Illinois and continuing through to her present positions as Director of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee's Bias Violence and Fair Housing Projects. Betsy has shown great dedication toward eliminating housing discrimination and furthering fair housing opportunities for Chicago residents. She served for seven years as a staff attorney and legal director for the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities - the same organization where she completed her PILI Internship in 1981. "It was quite an education for me," she says of her Internship. "I learned about housing discrimination and the powerful tool of fair housing testers to prove discrimination, and was excited to join the attorneys in federal court and learn about federal legal practice on the ground." Click here to read more. 

       

Date Change for the PILI Illinois Forum on Pro Bono: September 25th
PILI organizes this annual event to bring together pro bono leaders from law firms, corporations, legal aid agencies and law schools from around the state to discuss timely pro bono issues and share pro bono best practices. A networking reception will follow the program. Our next Illinois Forum on Pro Bono will be held on Thursday, September 25, 2014 from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the Chicago Bar Association. More details and registration information for this complimentary program are available on our website.

 

PILI Hosts Pro Bono Circuit Committee Chair Summit in Springfield

On June 27th, the six chairs of PILI's Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees met in Springfield at the Illinois State Bar Association's headquarters to share successes and discuss opportunities to enhance, expand and recognize pro bono at the judicial circuit level. Presentations on Limited Scope Representation by David Holtermann of the Lawyers Trust Fund and on using technology to promote pro bono by Teri Ross of Illinois Legal Aid Online were also on the agenda. Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Rita B. Garman joined the chairs for lunch and delivered keynote remarks at the Summit. PILI has now launched these committees in the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Tenth, Eleventh and Fourteenth Judicial Circuits, with each committee being comprised of local members of the bench and bar. The committees are in partnership with Prairie State Legal Services and Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation.  

 

Pro Bono Spotlight: PILI's 2014 Pro Bono Recognition Roster
Understanding the mounting legal needs of Illinois' poor and underrepresented, and realizing the critical role that law firms and corporations play in meeting that need through pro bono legal assistance, PILI seeks to celebrate the noteworthy pro bono contributions of law firms and corporations throughout the state of Illinois through our Pro Bono Recognition Roster. The Pro Bono Recognition Roster is unveiled each year at PILI's Annual Pro Bono Reception, which was held this year on June 18. In 2014, 32 law law firms and 11 corporations were named to the Recognition Roster. Click here to learn about some of the great pro bono happening at these firms and corporations.

Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI)
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Website: www.pili.org

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