PILI Interns (first or second year law students) and PILI Fellows (recent law school graduates) work in and learn about public interest law, and begin what PILI hopes is a lifelong commitment to public interest law and pro bono work. Below is the latest news about PILI's Internship and Fellowship Programs. Visit PILI's website to learn more about the Internship and Fellowship Programs.

Summer 2011 PILI Law Student Internship Program Application Period Wrapping Up

With summer fast approaching, most of PILI's Participating Agencies have filled their 2011 PILI Law Student Internship positions. PILI had a very impressive pool of over 375 law students from 74 law schools nationwide applying for an Internship at one of twenty of PILI's Participating Agencies. PILI funds these 400-hour Internships for first and second-year law students from across the country to work during the summer at public interest law agencies in the Chicago area. PILI also offers a limited number of 200-hour school year Internships for Chicago area law students. Read more about our Law Student Internship Program on our website.

Gearing Up for PILI's Summer Educational Series

Every year at the beginning of the summer, PILI hosts a Kick-off Luncheon for its Summer Educational Series for PILI Interns and Fellows. This year, the Kick-off will be held at the Chicago Bar Association on June 1. Plans for the Summer Educational Series are in the works - we're busy confirming topics, lining up speakers, and planning other Intern and Fellow events. Our Educational Series will take place again this year at DePaul University's College of Law; we are thankful to them for once again donating their space to PILI. Check our website for more information, including last summer's Educational Series calendar, and for updates on this year's schedule.

Alumni Named Internship Fundraising Campaign

At PILI's inaugural Alumni Reunion Reception back in September, we launched a campaign to create at least one additional summer Internship experience funded entirely with the support of alumni of its Internship and Fellowship Programs. Our initial fundraising goal is $5,500 for the PILI Alumni Internship Fund, which will at once provide a law student with an unparalleled service and educational opportunity, and the residents of Illinois with an additional 400 hours of legal service. Won't you consider making a donation to provide a law student with this valuable public interest law opportunity and generate an additional 400 hours of legal assistance for Illinois' poor and underrepresented? For more information about the Alumni Named Internship or to make a donation, visit our website.

Alumni Spotlight: 1979 Fellow Jody Adler

Jody Adler never thought of going to law school and becoming a lawyer. But in her work as a community organizer on landlord tenant issues in the 1970s, she often found herself accompanying tenants to housing court to complain about living conditions in their buildings. Going up against the lawyers of their landlords or against the City Corporation Counsel, the tenants rarely had lawyers of their own. "Every month, I sat in housing court with tenants who wanted to testify about the building conditions in their apartments," says Adler. "Every month, I saw attorneys for landlords who owned many multi-unit buildings get continuances to correct building code violations. Sitting there, I realized the power of a law degree and decided to apply to law school." Click here to read more.

Alumni Spotlight: 1995 Fellow  

LaShonda Hunt 

Sixteen years into her career as a lawyer, LaShonda Hunt has been an inspiration to her fellow PILI Alumni, to her colleagues, and to her community. After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School in 1995, Hunt worked as a PILI Fellow at Legal Assistance Foundation representing clients at their Northwest office who sought orders of protection, and at unemployment compensation hearings and eviction proceedings. Now working in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Hunt believes that the skills and experiences she gained as a PILI Fellow still impact her work today. Click here to read more.