Celebrating its 35th year in 2012, PILI seeks to cultivate a lifelong commitment to public interest law among law students and lawyers by creating opportunities for law students and lawyers to provide public interest and pro bono work in Illinois. Over the last 35 years, we have added programs and expanded our reach into the legal community and across Illinois, but we have stayed close to our roots.

Originally founded in 1977 as “The Chicago Law Student Public Interest Internship Program," PILI’s mission was to improve awareness of public interest law and the need for legal services for the poor. The Law Student Internship Program was launched with 12 student interns at four legal services agencies. In 1983, the name of the organization was changed to its current name, the “Public Interest Law Initiative” when the Graduate Fellowship Program was added.

More about PILI:

PILI's informational brochure

PILI's most recent 990

PILI's FY 2011 audit

A complete history of PILI

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Today, more than 3,000 law students and graduates have participated in PILI’s Internship and Fellowship Programs. These public interest lawyers span the globe and the profession; from law firm and corporate attorneys, to members of the judiciary and government sector, to members of the public interest law and higher education communities. PILI’s Alumni Program maintains the connection between these public interest lawyers, PILI and the public interest law community.

In 1999, PILI launched its Pro Bono Initiative for the New Millennium in an effort to better engage law firms and corporations in pro bono legal services. Now known as PILI's Pro Bono Initiative Program, this consulting program fosters business cultures and legal careers that feature a commitment to public interest law and pro bono work.

PILI also encourages law firms to provide the opportunity for firm attorneys — whether new associates or seasoned attorneys — to be placed at a public interest law organization for an extended period of time in a rotation or fellowship program. Through our Extended Placement Program, PILI provides assistance to firms in developing such programs and in identifying public interest law organizations to host their attorneys. PILI has coordinated these efforts in Illinois for many years, with a recent expansion of these efforts in response to the economic crisis.

Each of these programs are at the core of PILI’s mission: to cultivate a lifelong commitment to public interest law. By encouraging law students and attorneys to keep the public interest paramount in their legal careers, by helping them build professional relationships into working partnerships, by leveraging legal resources into thousands of hours of legal assistance each year, PILI is able to build and foster a culture of service in the legal profession. This culture of service helps law students and lawyers change lives and open opportunities for the poor and disenfranchised of our communities.