Member Peter Birnbaum Supports Mercy Home for Boys

Peter J. Birnbaum, president and CEO of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. has thrown his hat in the ring to help support Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, an organization that provides homes, education and support systems to Chicago’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged youth.

Along with other contenders from the financial services and legal professions, Birnbaum will participate in a boxing match at Mercy Home’s fundraiser, “Ringside for Mercy’s Sake,” on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017. He is matched up against Quarles and Brady Managing Partner Paul Langer.” The black-tie gala, which takes place from 6 p.m. to midnight at The Chicago Marriott Grand Ballroom, 540 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, also features premium cocktails, fine dining, celebrity appearances from boxing legends and Chicago media celebrities, dancing to The City Lights Orchestra, and exclusive live and silent auctions. 

While ATG is a longtime supporter of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, this is the first time one of its executives has duked it out at the annual fundraiser. One expects to see attorneys of Birnbaum’s caliber in the boardroom or in the courtroom, but in the boxing ring?

"ATG stalwart Ernie Codilis introduced us to Mercy Home several years ago. Mercy Home is a citadel protecting and keeping safe some of the most vulnerable children in Chicago. Supporting Mercy Home helps me pursue my personal mission to protect children and is in keeping with ATG's mission to support our community by helping those most in need. Having turned 60 this year I wanted to do something outside my comfort zone. By squaring off against Paul Langer, a cagey veteran boxer, a true gentleman and an outstanding trial lawyer we will (hopefully) give the crowd a good fight and raise significant money for a charity we both love", said Birnbaum, who joined ATG in 1981 and was named president and CEO in 1991. “I am pleased for this opportunity to support this very worthy Chicago organization that provides hope, healing and a fresh start for over 750 at-risk youth each year. The need now is greater than ever.”

Since its founding 130 years ago, Mercy Home has broken the cycle of neglect and abuse for over 30,000 kids through residential programs, aftercare, referral and monitoring services. Nearly 98 percent of Mercy Home’s $32 million annual budget is privately funded through the support of corporations, foundations and individuals. The organization receives no contributions from state or federal governments.

Founded in 1964, ATG has developed under Birnbaum’s leadership into a lawyer service organization whose annual revenues exceed $90 million. He is a frequent author and interviewee in dozens of regional and national newspapers and trade publications, including: The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Illinois Bar Journal, Crain’s Chicago Business, and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Birnbaum is frequently interviewed as an expert on news broadcasts, and he has testified in the U.S. Congress, the Illinois Senate, and the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee. He also speaks to audiences from legal or real estate trade associations across the country.

In 2016, Birnbaum was reappointed by Governor Bruce Rauner to a six-year term on the Illinois Court of Claims. He has been a judge on the Court since 2004 and chief justice since 2015. Birnbaum has played leadership roles on several corporate and philanthropic boards, including as past president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago, where he and his wife, Juliet, have been a Big Brother and Big Sister for the past 19 years.

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Sara Anderson
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