Attorney Kimball R. Anderson, of Chicago's Sheffield neighborhood [near DePaul University], is among seven exemplary Illinois attorneys who have been named Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers, established in 1999 by the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA).

The Laureates will be inducted on Thursday, April 7, at a luncheon at the Westin River North Hotel, Chicago.

Anderson, a senior partner in Winston & Strawn, graduated first in his class of 1977 at the University of Illinois College of Law and joined the law firm that year. Under Anderson's leadership, the firm's pro bono program has been honored as a model for the profession. His efforts have been recognized by the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association and U.S. District Court, and he was Chicago Lawyer magazine's Person of the Year in 1996.
Anderson is president-elect of the Chicago Bar Foundation, first vice president of the Public Interest Law Initiative and chair of the DePaul University College of Law Center for Justice in Capital Cases.
In his letter of nomination, former Illinois Governor James R. Thompson wrote that Anderson "exemplifies the values, standards and ideals of the best of the legal profession." Thompson noted that Anderson is one of the few volunteer lawyers who have argued a case before a state supreme court and one of the few who worked on a volunteer basis to help exonerate an innocent man.

The Academy was established "to recognize lawyers who personify the highest ideals of the legal profession," said ISBA President Ole B. Pace III.

Each year, the Academy honors lawyers who have established and maintained the highest principles of the profession as demonstrated by their pervasive record of service to the law and the public, according to Pace.

The Laureates were selected by the Board of Regents from submitted nominations. To be eligible for selection, candidates must have practiced law primarily in Illinois for at least 25 years, must be a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, and must have demonstrated a commitment to the highest principles of the legal profession and to serving the public.

Anderson joins 66 other Illinois lawyers who have been designated as Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers.

The 30,000-member ISBA, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public.
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[Note: Previous years' Laureates are profiled at http://www.isba.org/laureates/laureates.html]