News Tag: Pro Bono & Public Service Awards Luncheon

July 26, 2017

Stand Up for Justice

As we got ready to honor eight truly outstanding lawyers at this year’s CBA and CBF’s Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon, I found some inspiration for my closing remarks while watching Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, where they once again took a break in the middle of the game for Stand up to Cancer.

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July 18, 2017

CBF awards highlight pro bono attorneys

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
By David Thomas  |  Law Bulletin staff writer

Not all attorneys can dedicate themselves to pro bono or public-interest work, but every attorney — regardless of his or her practice — can show up.

“You can show up at legal clinics. We can show up at our legal clinics and our firms,” said Gary K. Wachtel, a senior director at Discover Financial Services. “We just have to continue to show up, giving our time, expertise and resources, and give profound help to those in need.”

Wachtel’s comments came after he was announced as the recipient of the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award at The Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Bar Foundation’s annual pro bono and public service luncheon. Read the article…

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April 4, 2017

Help an Outstanding Attorney Get Some Well-Deserved Recognition

The CBA and CBF are accepting nominations through May 8, 2017 for the Chicago legal community’s prestigious pro bono and public service awards. These awards celebrate exemplary members of the legal profession who have used their talents and resources to improve access to justice for the less fortunate in our community. The recipients will be honored at the CBA and CBF’s Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon on July 17.

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July 20, 2016

Timothy Hufman Accepts the 2016 Morsch Public Service Award

We all know that life can be unfair—and sometimes even cruel.

I am reminded of a boy named Julio, whom I met in the 1970s while I was running a group home for teenage boys in New York City. When Julio came to me, he was 15 years old and terribly scarred over his entire face and body due to third-degree burns he suffered as a boy when he was trapped in his Bronx apartment during a fire. Thereafter, whenever he did anything wrong, his parents punished him by holding a lit candle to his face. That abuse continued until his parents threw him out of the home at the age of 15 to fend for himself.

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July 20, 2016

People Have the Power

Monday was the CBA and CBF’s 18th Annual Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon, where about 700 attendees helped us honor seven unsung heroes of our profession who make us all proud to be part of Chicago’s legal community. This was the third year that we started the Luncheon with a song to help set a theme for the day, and this year’s song was Patti Smith’s classic, People Have the Power. The song is a particularly fitting tribute to the exemplary pro bono and public service work we celebrate at the Luncheon and highlights two important themes in the ongoing quest to ensure the justice system is truly fair and accessible for everyone.

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July 19, 2016

Unsung Pro Bono and Public Service Heroes Honored

Nearly 700 people attended this year’s event held at the Fairmont Hotel Chicago, co-chaired by Kelly McNamara Corley, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Discover Financial Services, and Rebecca S. Eisner, Partner-in-Charge of Mayer Brown LLP’s Chicago office.

The award recipients represent a broad cross-section of Chicago’s legal community and share an unfaltering commitment to advancing access to justice and inspiring those around them to join the cause. This year’s recipients have fought to alleviate suffering for individuals with mental illness, young people involved in juvenile justice matters, underprivileged senior citizens, families impacted by childhood cancer, victims of consumer fraud, families facing wrongful evictions, and many other people in need in our community.

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August 11, 2015

CBF Morsch Award Continues to Recognize Extraordinary Legal Aid Attorneys

CBF Report August 2015

Each year, the CBF awards the Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award, the premier public recognition for long-time legal aid and public interest law attorneys in Chicago. Recently, Chicago’s legal aid community received some great news when Tom Morsch and his family committed to continue their generous endowment of this prestigious award for an additional five years.

Morsch has received much-deserved recognition over the years for his tireless pro bono efforts and exemplary leader- ship in the legal community on access to justice issues. As a longtime partner at Sidley Austin and pro bono leader within the firm, he was one of the earliest advocates for getting private law firms to commit to pro bono service. Yet Morsch always felt that the private bar received a disproportionate amount of recognition for their pro bono contributions com- pared to the lawyers who had dedicated their careers to public interest law, often at great financial sacrifice.

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July 15, 2015

Honoring Careers of Dedication and Commitment

Seven attorneys lauded for their outstanding service to the community at the
CBA and CBF Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon

Seven outstanding attorneys in the Chicago area were recognized and celebrated for their extraordinary work at The Chicago Bar Association and The Chicago Bar Foundation 17th Annual Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon on July 14, 2015.

Over 700 people attended this year’s event held at the Fairmont Hotel Chicago, co-chaired by Brian W. Duwe, partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Jan Stern Reed, general counsel of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

The award recipients represent a broad cross-section of Chicago’s legal community and share an unfaltering commitment to advancing access to justice and inspiring those around them to join the cause. This year’s recipients have fought for indigent tenants, access to education, First Amendment issues, rape survivor’s rights, and the safety of domestic abuse victims, among other issues impacting people in need. Some brief background on the Pro Bono and Public Service Awards and this year’s honorees follows.

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May 27, 2015

Morsch Award Will Continue to Recognize Extraordinary Public Interest Attorneys

Chicago’s legal aid community received some great news when Tom Morsch and his family recently committed to continue their generous endowment of the prestigious Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award for an additional five years.

Tom deservedly has received a lot of recognition over the years for his tireless pro bono efforts and exemplary leadership in the legal community on access to justice issues. As a longtime partner at Sidley Austin and pro bono leader within the firm, Tom was one of the earliest advocates for getting private law firms to commit to pro bono service. Yet Tom always felt that the private bar received a disproportionate amount of recognition for their pro bono contributions in comparison to the lawyers who had dedicated their careers to public interest law at great financial sacrifice.

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August 12, 2014

Chicago’s Legal Community Honors Pro Bono and Public Service Heroes

CBF Report July/August 2014

CBA/CBF 16th Annual Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon

Some of the most influential work done by Chicago’s legal community flies under the radar. The Chicago Bar Association and The Chicago Bar Foundation’s 16th Annual Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon on July 15, 2014 highlighted some of that important work, honoring seven truly exemplary lawyers in the Chicago legal community. Luncheon co-chairs V. Alexandra Darrow of ADP, Inc. and President of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Chicago Chapter, and James A. Morsch of Butler Rubin Saltarelli&Boyd LLP presented the awards in front of more than 700 members of the Chicago legal community at the Fairmont Hotel Chicago.

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