As the CBF celebrates our 70th Anniversary, we look back to the beginning of the CBF Anderson Fellowship and the tremendous impact this program has made on the 15 Fellows honored to date and the thousands of Chicagoans who benefitted from the high quality legal help these dedicated lawyers have provided.
Karen and Kimball Anderson with several CBF Anderson Fellows in July 2017.
In 2003, then CBF President Kimball Anderson and his wife Karen set an extraordinary precedent for others in the legal community by creating the CBF Anderson Fellowship. The Fellowship provides significant loan repayment assistance to outstanding recent law school graduates and helps make it possible for them to pursue and remain in legal aid careers despite often overwhelming financial challenges. Since their original gift, the Andersons have continually renewed their support for this groundbreaking fellowship, which has inspired similar programs. Each year, the CBF awards one $50,000 fellowship (payable over 5 years) to help a newer lawyer repay their student loans, which can exceed their mortgage or rent payments.
CBF Anderson Fellows have described receiving the phone call from Karen Gatsis Anderson notifying them of their selection as a fellow as a game-changer.
We thank Kimball and Karen for their ongoing leadership and commitment to making our justice system more fair and accessible for everyone and hope you can join us on July 12th as we honor the 2018 CBF Anderson Fellow, Lydia Sharp, at the CBA & CBF Pro Bono & Public Service Awards Luncheon.
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