Cy pres awards have played a big part in the CBF’s growth and impact over the years, and this past year was no exception. These awards come from residual funds in class action cases (and sometimes other types of proceedings) that, for any number of reasons, are unclaimed or cannot be distributed to the class members or beneficiaries who were the intended recipients.
We thank our many partner law firms who have helped direct cy pres awards to the CBF over the years, and want to highlight the firms involved in awards over the past year in particular. Those firms include two firms that were involved with multiple awards to the CBF in 2020, McGuire Law, P.C. and Mark Silverman Law Office Ltd, as well as Edelman Combs Latturner and Goodwin, LLC, Hinshaw, Waskowski Johnson Yohalem LLP, Gary M. Klinger, Werman Salas P.C., and Law Offices of Ronald A. Marron.
These awards to the CBF have helped make possible a number of successful court-based projects and initiatives in the state and federal courts over the years–most recently the new Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt program–and continue to help the CBF to provide ongoing support for these efforts.
A full list of firms that have helped advance access to justice by suggesting the CBF as recipient for cy pres awards can be found on our website, along with more information on cy pres awards generally.