Exelon Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award
More on the Exelon Award
In 2000, The Chicago Bar Foundation and The Chicago Bar Association jointly commissioned The Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award. The award was created to specifically recognize the generally unsung pro bono contributions of outstanding attorneys in the corporate sector, and to encourage other corporate attorneys to volunteer their time and talents to help those in need.
The selection committee will choose the recipient based upon the nominee’s work on significant pro bono cases or matters that helped people in need in the Chicago area; the length and breadth of pro bono commitment and experience; and other significant accomplishments that have improved access to justice for residents of the Chicago area impacted by poverty, abuse, and discrimination.
In 2003, the Award was generously endowed by Exelon Corporation, which allows the recipient of the award to designate a special Chicago Bar Foundation grant to a CBF-supported legal aid or public interest law organization of his or her choice.
Exelon Award Recipients
2026 – Stephanie Hipp
When it comes to pro bono service, Stephanie Hipp leads by example. Stephanie is the General Counsel of McDonald’s Operating Company (McOpCo) and Senior Counsel for the Business Counsel/Franchise Group at McDonald’s Corporation. On top of this demanding work, Stephanie has been an active member of the McDonald’s pro bono committee for over 10 years. During her tenure, Stephanie has taken on numerous complex immigration cases while spearheading new pro bono opportunities for the McDonald’s legal team, serving as a true force multiplier for good.
2025 – Kathy Malamis
Kathy Malamis exemplifies leadership through action, both in her pro bono work and in her broader contributions at Zurich North America. As Vice President and Divisional Counsel, she serves on the North America Legal Services Executive Leadership Team and also leads the company’s Pro Bono Committee. Her leadership in this area is a natural extension of her longstanding dedication to using her legal expertise to help others and drive meaningful impact.
2024 – John “Jay” Reidy
Jay Reidy, Assistant Vice President & Senior Legal Counsel at AT&T, is a dedicated pro bono leader who mobilizes his professional skills and corporate leadership roles as a powerful force for good. Since joining AT&T in 1996, he has fostered a strong organizational commitment to pro bono within AT&T’s legal department culture, putting together partnerships with legal aid organizations such as the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), Center for Disability & Elder Law (CDEL), and Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. Jay is now AT&T Legal’s national co-chair for Community Involvement & Pro Bono activities.
2023 – Melvin Flowers
Melvin Flowers has been a dedicated leader and advocate for pro bono work throughout his legal career, and across varied cases and communities. Currently Accenture’s Global Legal Lead for Strategic Initiatives as part of the Global Data Privacy Legal Team, he has also co-developed and directed the company’s Midwest Market Unit pro bono program for many years. During his time helping to lead Accenture’s pro bono work, Melvin has significantly expanded the program and encouraged many members of Accenture and other Chicago area law firms to get involved.
2022 – Chantal Kazay
Chantal Kazay’s longstanding commitment to pro bono work dates to her time in law school at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Law, where as a student member of the school’s Street Law class she visited juvenile detention centers and provided “Criminal Law 101” to detained youth and underserved communities. While in law school she volunteered with Legal Aid Chicago in their expungement and sealing clinics, a project she continued her involvement with into her legal career.
2021 – Theresa Duckett
Theresa Duckett is a true pro bono champion within the corporate sector and someone who has led by example throughout her career, especially in her current role at BMO Harris Bank. Her personal dedication to public service has been clear since her early days in law school. During her time at Tulane University School of Law she was a PILI intern at the Better Government Association, and she returned to the organization for a fellowship after graduating cum laude in 2002. Theresa went on to join Locke Lord LLP, where she chaired the firm’s pro bono committee and represented many asylum clients volunteering with the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC).
2020 – Jane Mansell
In her seven years working in-house at McDonald’s Corporation, Jane has been a regular volunteer on almost all the legal department’s pro bono projects. A member of the company’s Pro Bono Committee, she has devoted countless hours supporting McDonald’s Pro Bono Program while taking on many significant pro bono cases herself.
2019
Sherene Awad Jodrey
2018
Dolores Ayala
2017
Gary Wachtel
2016
Eric Carlson
2015
Claire Battle
2014
Mary Jo Quinn
2013
Angela B. Frye
2012
Steven S. Fus
2011
Sandra J. Wall
2010
Mary Anne Smith
2009
Kal Gibron
2008
Minauti Mehta
2007
Randall S. Rapp
2006
Laura L. Hois
2005
Daniel A. Cotter
2004
Steven M. Cook
2003
Sujata Dayal and Tejal Vakharia
2002
Pauline Levy
2001
Mary Ann O’Connor
2000
Daniel J. Harper