Hello!
Happy New Year! At PILI, we are looking forward to celebrating our 45th Anniversary with you this year. In honor of this anniversary, PILI is asking our network and supporters to Take the Initiative in 2022. 

How will you take the initiative to increase access to justice with us this year? Whether it be through answering a question on Illinois Free Legal Answers, making a donation, or perhaps taking a new pro bono case, or finding some other way to get involved with us in 2022, we hope you will join us in celebrating 45 years of public interest law leadership in Illinois. 

Thank you for all you do! We are excited to ring in the new year and can’t wait to see how Illinois’ legal community will Take the Initiative with us!

Sincerely,

  • 2022 marks PILI's 45th Anniversary, in which the annual theme is Take the Initiative. You can watch our PILI 2022: Take the Initiative video here.
  • PILI has established three new cross-state working groups to increase pro bono services and access to justice throughout Illinois. Representatives from all eleven Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees will convene over the next year to plan virtual CLE programming, develop strategies to recruit pro bono volunteers, and address issues of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. Read more on our website.

  • Looking for a Pro Bono Opportunity? PILI needs volunteers in the Third, Sixth & Tenth Judicial Circuits. As we kick off 2022, we are spotlighting a few of these opportunities for which we are actively seeking pro bono volunteers at this time. Read more about them on our website.


Kristen Rodriguez of Dentons Joins PILI’s Board of Directors

PILI is excited to welcome Kristen Rodriguez, a PILI Alum at Dentons, to our Board of Directors. Kristen is a Partner in Dentons’ Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. Named as one of the “Most Influential Minority Lawyers” in Chicago, and one of the ABA’s “Top 40 Young Lawyers,” Kristen focuses on high stakes commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts across the country. Read more about Kristen's career on our website.

PILI is excited to welcome Aleathea Williams and Paris Mayfield to our Board of Directors as the 2021 Law Student Intern and Graduate Fellow Alumni Representatives. Each year, PILI appoints one Intern and one Fellow from the most recent class to serve on the board for a two-year term.
Aleathea is a 2L at Chicago-Kent College of Law and completed her Internship with the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Paris is a first-year associate at Duane Morris and completed her Fellowship with the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy.
February is right around the corner and we are looking for "PILI Alumni Couples" to spotlight in next month's newsletter!

In past years, we have spotlighted PILI Alumni who are in a relationship. Are you or someone you know a good fit? Please email Hannah Miller, PILI's Development and Communications Associate at hmiller@pili.org if you or someone you know would be a good fit.