Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award
More on the Weigle Award
The Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award celebrates the initiative and exceptional contributions of young lawyers to the profession, the organized bar and the community. The Award reflects the commitment and beliefs of an extraordinary father and son, Maurice W. Weigle (1877-1967) and Maurice S. Weigle (1912-1989), who each exhibited a lifelong devotion to the law and the community.
Both men were highly respected Chicago attorneys and esteemed members of The Chicago Bar Association. They felt passionately about furthering education, youth empowerment and the legal community of Chicago. In memory of their spirit and dedication to these issues, their families generously endowed this prestigious Award in 1968, allowing the recipient to designate a special grant to his or her favorite legal aid or public interest law organization.
An attorney 36 years or younger who is a member of the The Chicago Bar Association will be selected based upon the nominee’s contributions to furthering the ideals of the legal profession; the nominees contributions to making the organized bar an effective force for improving the legal profession; and the nominee’s demonstrated commitment to pro bono and community service.

Our Past Kilbride Award Recipients

2022 – Patrick Yingling
Patrick Yingling is a partner at Reed Smith LLP. Incredibly, in addition to a busy practice at the firm, he has dedicated an average of more than 750 hours each year to pro bono cases that advance justice, equity, and the rule of law.
Patrick has obtained landmark wins for LGBTQ+ rights, including court recognition of same-sex common-law marriages dating back decades and rulings invalidating laws that prevented transgender individuals from changing their names.

2021 – Sarah Grady
Despite being a relatively new lawyer, Sarah Grady has already made an enormous impact within the legal community. Sarah leads the Prisoners’ Rights Project at the law firm of Loevy & Loevy, where she has worked since 2013. Throughout her time in the legal field, she has showed an impressive dedication to public interest and justice, with a focus on prisoners’ rights that she traces back to a class she took at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. Throughout law school she sought out every opportunity she could to dedicate herself to public interest; she worked at the MacArthur Justice Center and the Death Penalty Clinic at Northwestern University School of Law’s Bluhm Legal Clinic, and also helped organize the Student Funded Public Interest Fellowship program.

2020 – Yasamin N. Kaye
In only five years of practice, Yasamin N. Kaye has made truly exceptional contributions to both the legal profession and the community. During her tenure at Perkins Coie, she contributed over 800 hours of service through a wide range of pro bono programs, and she brings her commitment to service with her to her new role as an Associate at Goldberg Kohn Ltd.

2019 – David Pi
In his first six years as an associate at Schiff Hardin LLP, David Pi has already proven himself to be a true leader at the firm and in the broader legal community. As one colleague writes, “David has a unique combination of intellect, energy, and compassion that makes him a tremendous lawyer and person.”

2018 – Anna M. Lozoya
Anna Lozoya, a Risk Manager at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, stands out for her unique, interdisciplinary commitment to helping others. As a lawyer and a nurse, she uses her diverse skill set and experience to ensure that veterans receive optimal and holistic medical care.
2017
Trisha M. Rich
2016
Andrew F. Merrick
2015
Shauna R. Prewitt
2014
Brian K. Jones
2013
James R. Irving
2012
Elizabeth P. Lewis
2011
Jordan M. Heinz
2010
Todd A. Solomon
2009
Andrew W. Vail
2008
Grace Y. Poe
2007
Justin Lee Heather
2006
Steven V. Hunter
2005
Steven A. Block
2004
Catherine M. Burkhardt
2003
Andrew Worseck
2002
Christine Farrell
2001
Melissa L. Rabel
2000
Jayme Levin-Muriel
1998
Elizabeth E. Lewis
1997
Bob Glaves
1996
Kartik K. Raman
1995
Mark E. Wojcik
1994
Sally J. McDonald
1993
Edward J. Lewis II
1992
Linda M. Rio
1991
Lorie A. Chaiten
1990
Graham C. Grady
1989
Ruben Castillo
1988
Carleen Schreder
James Monroe Smith
1987
Richard T. Cozzola
1986
Ellen E. Douglass
Craig B. Mousin
1985
Lee Hugh Goodman
1984
James William Elwin, Jr.
Thomas J. Paprocki
1983
Ruth Ann Schmitt
1982
Bruce D. Becker
Sharon L. Fabian
1981
Eileen M. Letts
1980
Cynthia Anne Kelly
1979
Andrew R. Gelman
1978
Mary M. Conrad
1977
Donald C. Schiller
1976
Ann L. Draznin
Wendy U. Larsen
1975
Deverereux Bowly, Jr.
1973
Richard C. Groll
1972
Peter Sfikas
1971
David C. Hilliard
1970
Wayne W. Whalen
1969
Carole K. Bellows
1968
Peter Tomei