Joshua Vincent has been committed to the idea that justice should not be limited to those who can afford it throughout his legal career. A longtime partner and appellate leader at Hinshaw & Culbertson, Josh maintains a strong pro bono practice and established the firm’s nationwide pro bono program. For the past decade, he has also served as the chair of the Appellate Forms Subcommittee of the Illinois Access to Justice Commission, devoting his considerable acumen to making the complex appellate system more accessible to people without lawyers.
In Josh’s own words, “True access to justice requires meaningful appellate review.” Appellate forms are often filled with complex legal language and procedures, making them extremely difficult for people representing themselves to understand or complete successfully. As chair of the Appellate Forms Subcommittee, Josh tackled this problem with infectious enthusiasm, developing plain language forms that unpresented litigants can easily understand. This was, as one person put it, “nothing short of a revolution of the legal system as we used to know it.” Additionally, Josh was a driving force behind the Commission’s “Free Legal Answers for Civil Appeals” helpdesk, where low-income litigants can submit questions for appeals cases through a website and receive answers from attorneys. At the helpdesk, Josh trains and inspires other attorneys to share their expertise in a meaningful pro bono setting.
In 2008, Josh established Hinshaw’s nationwide pro bono program. He has had incredible success motivating pro bono participation at the firm, devoting hundreds of hours to supervising associate attorneys on pro bono criminal appeals in the Seventh Circuit. Josh has also provided pro bono service at SkyART for over 20 years, bolstering the organization’s mission to support young people in South Chicago and Garfield Park through free art and mental health programs. To top it off, Josh has served as a board member for the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) since 2011.
Throughout his career, Josh has expanded access to justice for countless individuals. His unwavering dedication to improving the legal system and serving the public interest makes him an ideal recipient of the Edward J. Lewis Pro Bono Service Award.