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