Pro Bono & Public Service Awards Luncheon

The 2023 CBA & CBF Pro Bono & Public Service Awards will be held on Thursday, July 20 at the Hilton Chicago. We are excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event and 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 in the lives of the most vulnerable people in our community.

Nominations for all 2023 awards are now open. Learn more here.

Congratulations to the 2022 Recipients

Kimball R. Anderson and Karen Gatsis Anderson Public Interest Law Fellowship

Nicole Smith, Cabrini Green Legal Aid

Exelon Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award

Chantal Kazay, Discover Financial Services

Justice Thomas L. Kilbride Public Service Award

Hon. Catherine Schneider, Circuit Court of Cook County

Edward J. Lewis II Pro Bono Service Award

Shelisa M. Thomas, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award

Patrick Yingling, Reed Smith LLP

Leonard Jay Schrager Award of Excellence

Dean Jennifer Rosato Perea, DePaul University College of Law

Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award

Pat Wrona, CARPLS Legal Aid

“A recent pro bono success—the release of a wrongfully convicted individual after 20 years’ incarceration—demonstrates why I do this work. My client had fallen victim to an imperfect justice system. Now he can parent in person. Now he can escape poverty and an environment plagued with incarceration, death, and drugs. Now he has resources at his disposal and advocates in his corner that give him a platform to disrupt generations of disadvantage and hardship. Pro bono work is an important driver of my happiness because I can be the helpline that I and many others like me never had.” – Shelisa Thomas, 2022 Edward J. Lewis Pro Bono Award Recipient

Thank you to our 2022 Sponsors!

Platinum

Accenture
Ankura
Clifford Law Offices
Eimer Stahl LLP
Exelon
Jenner & Block LLP
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Law Bulletin Media
LexisNexis
Locke Lord LLP
Ropes & Gray LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Stout
Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC
United Airlines, Inc.
Verizon
Zurich

Silver

Allstate Insurance Company
ArentFox Schiff LLP
Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc.
Baker McKenzie
Barack Ferrezzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
CBA Insurance Agency
CME Group
Crowell & Moring LLP
Dentons US LLP
Discover Financial Services

Dykema Gossett PLLC
GrowthPlay
Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen P.C.
Latham & Watkins LLP
LegalServer
Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC
Mayer Brown LLP
McDonald’s Corporation
McGuireWoods LLP
Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP

Passen & Powell
Peoples Gas
Perkins Coie LLP
Pincus Professional Education
Quarles & Brady LLP
Reed Smith LLP
Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP
Scharf Banks & Marmor LLC
Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, Ltd
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Verity Group

2022 Pro Bono & Public Service Awards Luncheon

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