Cynthia Cornelius left behind a successful career in the private sector to dedicate herself to serving others, making the decision to attend law school at age 54 to pursue a career in legal aid. Cynthia has gone on to dedicate her entire 17-year legal career to helping some of the most vulnerable people in the Chicago area and beyond through her work at Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA), and she has made an amazing impact on her clients, her colleagues, and our community.
Cynthia began her work with CGLA as their Criminal Records Intern while pursuing her law school degree and eventually became Director of Legal Programs. Cynthia has worn at least six different hats at the organization, leading direct legal services, social work, legal support, and pro bono activities to assist clients who are facing barriers to employment and affordable housing that many individuals with prior criminal records unjustly face. She has devoted herself to giving these clients the fresh start they deserve.
Cynthia’s drive for continuous innovation cannot be overstated. She recently led the efforts to develop a criminal record expungement and sealing software known as Monarch, which has completely revolutionized the expungement petition research and drafting process. With Cynthia’s leadership, CGLA is facilitating the training and logistics for other legal aid organizations doing expungement work in Cook County and the rest of the State to take advantage of Monarch and more efficiently and effectively serve their clients in need.
Cynthia’s passion and work ethic are a model for all her colleagues, and she embodies CGLA’s “client interest first and utmost” practice. Her focus is on helping CGLA’s clients restore hope – hope for their own future as well as for the futures of all who rely on them. She also is helping develop a new generation of future lawyers who understand their responsibility to extend legal services to some of our most vulnerable members of society and to do so with a generous heart. Her exemplary commitment to public interest work makes her an ideal recipient of this year’s Thomas H. Morsch Award.