PBI Develops "Pro Bono Prospectus" to Aid Lawyers in Promoting Pro Bono Within Their Firms
PBI has created the "Pro Bono Prospectus" with the help of PBI Participants Julie Tappendorf of Holland + Knight LLP and Jim Morsch of Butler Rubin Saltarelli & Boyd LLP. The Pro Bono Prospectus is intended to aid law firm attorneys who are trying to encourage their firms to develop formal pro bono programs and to encourage fellow attorneys to participate in their firm's pro bono activities. A version for attorneys at corporate law departments will be available soon.  For more information, e-mail or call PBI Director Michael Bergmann at mbergmann@pili-law.org or 312-832-5129.

View the PBI Pro Bono Prospectus.

CBF/CBA to Recognize Pro Bono and Public Service Leaders at Annual Pro Bono and Public Service Luncheon
On Monday, July 9, 2007, members of the legal community will gather at The Chicago Bar Association and The Chicago Bar Foundation's Ninth Annual Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon at the Renaissance Hotel. Co-chaired by Nancy Loeb of Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Mary Rose Alexander of Latham & Watkins, LLP, this signature event in the legal community is a unique opportunity to recognize attorneys who exemplify the profession's commitment to equal access to justice. This year's awards will honor the work of seven unsung heroes from a broad cross-section of the greater Chicago legal community whose dedication to public interest inspires those around them to join in their efforts. For more information about the awards or to purchase tickets to the event, contact Meredith Lovell at mlovell@chicagobar.org or 312/554-1207. More information is also available on the CBF website.

Baker & McKenzie Wins Major Special Education Case Before US Supreme Court A major victory was recently achieved in a special education case handled by a team of attorneys from Baker & McKenzie, including PILI Board member Erin McCloskey Maus. The U.S. Supreme Court decision was a huge step in the right direction for parents of children with disabilities who often find themselves having to navigate special education proceedings without a lawyer, either because they cannot find one or they cannot afford one. The decision has immediate and wide-ranging impact on Chicago families of children with disabilities. Read the Supreme Court Decision.

Legal Aid Bureau Launches Full-Time Pro Bono Program
On May 10th, nearly 50 attorneys from over 25 Chicago law firms joined host Eimer, Stahl, Klevorn & Solberg for a cocktail reception in celebration of the Legal Aid Bureau's (LAB) first full-time pro bono program. At the reception, attorneys Marshall Schmitt, Patricia Boye-Williams and Sarah Cane from Jenner & Block were recognized for their excellent work in an international guardianship dispute involving an eleven year-old Ecuadorian boy. The event also featured guest speaker Judge David Haracz of the Cook County Domestic Violence Court who emphasized the high number of pro se litigants in domestic violence cases and the importance of pro bono assistance in representing victims of domestic violence. The LAB offers a wide variety of pro bono opportunities in family, elder, housing, and consumer law, wills & trusts, bankruptcies, and other poverty law areas, including small commitment "bite-sized" litigation. Please contact Grace Lim at 312-986-4011 or limg@metrofamily.org for more information.

Dykema Announces New Pro Bono Committee Chair
On June 5th, Dykema announced that Charles A. LeMoine, a member in the firm's Litigation practice, has been appointed chair of its pro bono committee. As a member of Dykema for over 20 years, LeMoine has handled numerous civil litigation-related matters from the trial court level through appeal. Dykema's pro bono committee is responsible for setting pro bono policies for the firm, encouraging meaningful pro bono work and otherwise enhancing the firm's commitment to such work, and administering Dykema's pro bono activities. In his new role, LeMoine will focus on the strategic direction of the program, while Attorney and Pro Bono Coordinator Heidi Naasko will continue to oversee the daily administration, including coordinating pro bono efforts among Dykema's 10 offices throughout the United States. More information on Dykema's pro bono program is available on the firm's website.

New Legal Assessment Project (LAP) Seeks Volunteer Attorneys and Offers Services to Nonprofit Organizations
The Community Economic Development Law Project is launching the Legal Assessment Project (LAP), a new initiative to provide a range of legal analysis, representation and technical assistance to established nonprofit organizations. The primary purpose of the program is to strengthen Chicago's nonprofit community groups and legal aid and public interest law organizations by building their internal organizational capacity in significant management areas such as regulatory compliance, fiscal oversight, personnel and corporate governance policies. The genesis of the new program was the Pro Bono Initiative's pilot project which organized pro bono teams of law firm and in-house corporate attorneys to conduct comprehensive legal assessments. The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF) is providing major funding to launch this new project; the CBF's funding was made possible by a recent cy pres award. The Polk Bros. Foundation provided additional funding. Jody Adler, who has been the CEDLP nonprofit staff attorney since 1997, will be the new LAP director. With a wealth of experience in the law of nonprofit organizations and well developed contacts with the pro bono legal community, she will be pulling together the teams of pro bono attorneys (with assistance from PBI) and recruiting nonprofit client organizations. Starting mid-June the LAP will accept clients. A new application will be posted on www.cedlp.org. Public interest law and legal aid organizations as well as pro bono attorneys interested in participating should send an email to cedlp@cedlp.org. This is a great pro bono opportunity for teams of lawyers from the same firm or law firms and the legal departments of their corporate clients. Read more.

A sample of some newly available opportunities featured on IllinoisProBono.org are also listed below. Visit IllinoisProBono.org today to find these and additional opportunities.

• Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation: Guardian ad litem for Disabled Adults
• Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation: Chancery Court Access to Justice
• Center for Conflict Resolution: Mediator
• Equip for Equality - Northeastern Illinois Office: Represent students with disabilities
• Evanston Community Defender Office, Inc.: Mentor to Youth School Mediation Program
• Evanston Community Defender Office, Inc.: Represent Youth in Criminal Court
• Children & Family Justice Center - Northwestern Bluhm Legal Clinic: Juvenile expungement cases

PBI's "Celebrating Pro Bono" Event Held June 5th
This year's event, "Celebrating Pro Bono," was held on Tuesday, June 5, 2007, at the Harold Washington Library's Winter Garden Room. Attorneys and staff from law firms, corporate legal departments, and legal aid agencies gathered to celebrate pro bono relationships and successes. Approximately 250 guests attended the event from law firms and corporations, with 40 legal aid and public interest law organizations represented and over 40 2007 PILI Interns and Fellows.

A very special thank you to our event sponsors!

PBI Website Updated to Include Live Feed from IllinoisProBono. org
The PBI website was recently updated to include live feeds from IllinoisProBono.org. Recently posted pro bono news, upcoming events at legal aid and public interest law organizations throughout Illinois, and recently posted pro bono opportunities are now available on the PBI website. Check it out today!

NEWS

EVENTS

PRO BONO OPPORTUNITIES

New Bankruptcy Pro Bono Panel Established for the Northern District
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently announced the creation of a volunteer attorney panel to represent indigent parties on a pro bono basis in discrete adversary proceedings. The program will be administered by the Bankruptcy Court with support and assistance from the Bench-Bar Liaison Committee and the CBA Bankruptcy and Reorganization Committee. Attorneys interested in learning more about the program should attend an introductory meeting at 12:00 noon on June 14, 2007 in Courtroom 613, Dirksen Federal Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn. For more information, visit the court's website and click on "Announcements".

The Chicago Bar Association and The Chicago Bar Foundation To Co-Sponsor Pro Bono Week 2007
To honor lawyers' pro bono efforts and to educate the public and the legal community about how these lawyers are improving the lives of the less fortunate, The Chicago Bar Association (CBA) and The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF) will co-sponsor Pro Bono Week 2007 from October 8-12, 2007. The 14th Annual CBA/YLS Pro Bono and Community Service Fair will be held on October 11, 2007 at Jenner and Block. Stay tuned for more details.

PBI Hosts 1st Semi-Annual Pro Bono Forum
On April 26, 2007, PBI hosted the first semi-annual PBI Pro Bono Forum. Over 70 pro bono leaders from law firms and corporations and representatives from legal aid and public interest law organizations attended the event. The Forum consisted of a panel program and breakout roundtable discussions focusing on issues affecting pro bono work. A complete agenda for the program is available on our website. The program is also available through Illinois Legal Aid Online as a webcast. Stay tuned for information about the next PBI Pro Bono Forum to be held in Fall 2007.

More About the Pro Bono Initiative and How to Get Involved
PBI is undertaking a variety of projects to achieve its goals. Learn more about these projects and how PBI Participants from law firms, corporate legal departments and legal aid and public interest law organizations can get involved with the work of PBI. Three teams, the Pro Bono Manual Team, PBI Program Planning Team and the Pro Bono Opportunities Team, have already been launched. As the Teams complete their work, new teams will be added based on other projects PBI will be undertaking. Read more.

Past PBI E-newsletters Now Available Online
Did you miss a previous edition of the PBI e-newsletter? Past editions are now available on-line at the "News" page of the PBI website. Past PBI E-newsletters

In each edition, this section features stories written by pro bono attorneys about their pro bono experiences as well as perspectives from firms, corporations and legal aid agencies. Please consider submitting an article for an upcoming e-newsletter. Articles should be no more than 300 words and may be submitted electronically to mbergmann@pili-law.org.