Pro Bono & Public Service Awards Luncheon
The 2026 CBA & CBF Pro Bono & Public Service Awards were held on Thursday, July 9, at the Hilton Chicago. We were excited to once again honor seven unsung heroes in our legal community for their remarkable pro bono and public service achievements.
Pro bono and public service represent some of the noblest traditions in the legal profession, and the amount of work performed by individuals in our community is nothing short of amazing. The awards presented honor lawyers from a broad cross-section of the legal community whose passion for serving others is reflected in their extraordinary commitment to the ideals of equal access to justice. These awards also serve to build awareness of the impact our collective efforts can have on the lives of the most vulnerable people in our community.
Save the date for next year’s luncheon on Wednesday, July 28, 2027!
2026 Co-Chairs
Sara Ghadiri
Chapman and Cutler LLP
Jennifer Kobayashi
Aon Corporation
Congratulations to the 2026 Recipients
Kimball R. Anderson and Karen Gatsis Anderson Public Interest Law Fellowship
Emory Robertson, Ascend Justice
Exelon Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award
Stephanie Hipp, McDonald’s Corporation
Justice Thomas L. Kilbride Public Service Award
Renata Stiehl, Circuit Court of Cook County
Edward J. Lewis II Pro Bono Service Award
Joshua Vincent, Hinshaw & Culbertson
Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award
Christina Lopez, Jenner & Block LLP
Leonard Jay Schrager Award of Excellence
Theresa Ceko, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award
Lawrence Wood, Legal Action Chicago
– Kathy Malamis, 2025 Exelon Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award Recipient
Thank you to our 2026 Sponsors!
Platinum
Accenture
Aon Corporation
Berkeley Research Group, LLC
Chapman and Cutler LLP
Clifford Law Offices
Corboy & Demetrio
Eimer Stahl LLP
Holland & Knight LLP
Jenner & Block LLP
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Kaveny Sarmas
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
LexisNexis
McDermott Will & Schulte
Ropes & Gray LLP
Sheppard
Sidley Austin LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC
United Airlines, Inc.
Winston Taylor
Zurich
Gold
Baker McKenzie
Builders Vision
Chuhak & Tecson, P.C.
Cooley LLP
Dentons US LLP
DLA Piper LLP (US)
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Goldberg Kohn Foundation
Jones Day
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
McDonald’s Corporation
McGuire Law, P.C.
Passen Powell Jenkins
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Wintrust Bank
Silver
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Arboretum Wealth & Trust Management
Ashurst Perkins Coie US LLP
Barack Ferrezzano
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
CBA Insurance Agency
CME Group
Crowell & Moring LLP
GrowthPlay
Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen P.C.
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
K&L Gates LLP
Lathrop GPM LLP
LegalServer
Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC
Mayer Brown LLP
Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
Peoples Gas
Pincus Professional Education
Reed Smith LLP
Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP
Scharf Banks Marmor LLC
Stout
Valentine Austriaco & Bueschel, P.C.
Verity Group
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Women’s Bar Association of Illinois
2026 Pro Bono & Public Service Awards Luncheon
