108 PILI Interns & Fellows Serve at Legal Aid Organizations Across Illinois This Summer

The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) has announced its Law Student Internship & Graduate Fellowship Class of 2014. PILI is funding 43 Law Student Interns representing 34 law schools from across the country to work at 23 legal aid organizations across Illinois. These PILI Interns have been selected out of over 350 law student applicants from over 70 law schools. Each PILI Intern will serve 400 hours over the summer, together contributing 17,200 hours of legal services on behalf of thousands of low-income individuals and families. PILI provides supplemental educational, networking and mentoring opportunities. See a full list of our 2014 Law Student Interns on our website at www.pili.org/internships/current-pili-interns.

Of these Interns, 13 hold Named or Honorary Internship positions, created by special funding commitments from individuals and groups dedicated to promoting public interest law. Many Named Internships support a specific cause. For example, the ISBA Young Lawyers Division has for years sponsored one PILI Intern through its Children’s Assistance Fund to address the legal welfare of children. Other PILI Interns are named in honor or memory of champions for service and philanthropy to our legal aid community, including Kimball & Karen Anderson of Winston & Strawn LLP and Jerome Gilson of Brinks Gilson & Lione.

Alexandra Hunstein from Loyola University School of Law is the Illinois State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Intern at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. This Named Internship provides direct legal services to, or on behalf of, poor, disenfranchised and under-represented children. View the full list of PILI’s Named & Honorary Interns at www.pili.org/donate/named-internships/named-honorary-interns.

PILI is also supporting 65 Graduate Fellows this summer. Fellows are incoming associates at major Chicago law firms who are sponsored by their firms to work at legal aid organizations while studying for or after taking the bar exam. This year, 14 law firms are sponsoring PILI Fellows at 33 legal aid organizations. Each PILI Fellow will serve 300 hours between graduation and joining the firm, together contributing 19,500 hours of legal services on behalf of thousands of low-income individuals and families. See a full list of PILI’s 2014 Graduate Fellows on our website at www.pili.org/fellowships/current-pili-fellows.

PILI's mission is to cultivate a lifelong commitment to public interest law and pro bono service within the Illinois legal community to expand the availability of legal services for people, families and communities in need. Since PILI’s founding in 1977, PILI has funded or supported over 3,600 law students and graduates who have participated in PILI’s Law Student Internship Program or Graduate Fellowship Program.

To learn more about PILI, visit our website at www.pili.org, or contact PILI Executive Director Michael Bergmann at mbergmann@pili.org or 312-832-5129.