PSLS Director and Pro Bono Attorneys Honored at Annual ISBA Membership Appreciation and Recognition Reception
L-R: Jennifer Luczkowiak, Sonni Choi Williams, Kelly Giraudo and Tami Meister
On May 16, incoming Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) President and PSLS Board Member, Sonni Choi Williams, recognized select members of the ISBA with awards at its annual ISBA Membership Appreciation and Recognition Reception.
John C. McAndrews Pro Bono Service Award
This year, PSLS nominated and the ISBA awarded Butler Giraudo & Meister, P.C. and the Honorable David Butler with the John C. McAndrews Award. The ISBA established the John C. McAndrews Award to honor the extraordinary commitment of individuals, bar associations, or law firm/corporate legal departments to providing free legal services to the income eligible in Illinois or expanding the availability of legal services to the income eligible in Illinois. To learn more about this award, visit https://www.isba.org/awards/mcandrews.
Butler Giraudo & Meister is a small law firm with a large impact through pro bono through their acceptance of individual case referrals from PSLS, as well as their central role in helping create the 10th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono divorce clinic. In the past year, this firm spent approximately 100 hours serving 13 individual clients. Additionally in 2023, the 10th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee identified a need for more representation in divorce cases, and Tami Meister immediately volunteered to serve as the pro bono attorney for the first clinic. After the first clinic, Ms. Meister worked with PSLS staff and the Pro Bono Committee to improve the procedures for future clinics. Based on the success of the first clinic, another law firm volunteered to accept six cases for a second clinic. Members of the firm are also deeply involved in the community, including serving on the 10th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee, attending the annual Spring Pro Bono Social to encourage pro bono work, and attending the annual bar association golf outing, which helps to raise money for PSLS and other causes. These efforts help to expand pro bono and serve more clients than just the individual clients served directly by the firm.
Retired Judge David Butler served as an Associate Circuit Court Judge in the McLean County Circuit Court from 2005 to 2018. Since his retirement, he has continued to serve his community by taking on pro bono cases through PSLS. Over the past year, he has spent over 130 hours assisting over 100 clients with housing and domestic violence issues. Since he began volunteering in 2019, he has spent more than 630 hours serving 347 clients. However, the hours Judge Butler has spent on case work does not tell the full story. His work helping set up an eviction help desk at the courthouse, training other volunteers, and mentoring new PSLS attorneys has helped countless other clients. Judge Butler has been an indispensable resource for PSLS over the last several years and his dedication to his community is extraordinary.
The Joseph R. Bartylak Memorial Legal Services Award
Jennifer Luczkowiak, PSLS’ Director of Resource Development, received the Joseph R. Bartylak Service Award for more than 10 years of service. The ISBA’s Delivery of Legal Services committee established the Joseph R. Bartylak Memorial Legal Services Award to annually honor the extraordinary commitment and dedication of civil legal services attorneys who have provided the highest caliber of compassionate legal representation and outstanding service to Illinois’ vulnerable and low-income population.
Jennifer Luczkowiak has dedicated her legal career and even law school endeavors to helping members of the public in need, first in California and now in Illinois for 15 years. She started her career serving homeless and runaway youth as an Equal Justice Works Fellow in Silicon Valley after law school. Beginning in 2012, she served as Staff Attorney and then Managing Attorney in the Legal Help for Homeowners Project at PSLS, where she impacted the lives of hundreds of families facing foreclosure. Since 2016, Ms. Luczkowiak has served in a Director role at PSLS overseeing the Resource Development Department.
Other PSLS staff and former PSLS staff who have received the Bartylak Award include Bernard Shapiro, Linda Rothnagel, Megan Brady, Lacy Burpee, Michael O'Connor and Jesse Hodierne. To learn more about this award, visit https://www.isba.org/awards/bartylak.