Chicago Lawyers' Committee The Law ProjectOn Thursday, July 11, 2013, the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee hosted its 44th Annual Meeting at the Palmer House Hilton, in The Loop. The event celebrated agency milestones, honored the pro bono work of its partners, and featured keynote speaker and civil rights trailblazer Dr. Mary Frances Berry. More information is available here (the event program-PDF).

The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee’s Annual Meeting serves as a yearly forum for Board Members and more than 200 of the City’s top attorneys and civic leaders to recognize the work of the agency and its partners, discuss the region’s most pressing civil rights issues, and raise much-needed funds for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee’s evolving civil rights and community development agenda.

“This is an important opportunity for the legal community to come together and express its commitment to creating positive futures for communities of color and low-income persons in greater Chicago,” says Jay Readey, Executive Director of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee.

This year’s Annual Meeting honorees include: Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. a long-time CLC member firm that will be honored with the 2013 Public Interest Award; Charles Krugel, a solo practitioner and TLP volunteer attorney and recipient of this year’s Outstanding Volunteer Attorney of the Year Award; and Fay Clayton of Robinson Curley & Clayton, P.C., a long-time CLC board member and renowned civil rights advocate that will be honored with The Edwin A. Rothschild Award for Lifetime Achievement in Civil Rights.

According to the CLC: “Chuck Krugel is among The Law Project’s most exceptional volunteers. As a solo practitioner, Chuck demonstrates a remarkable personal commitment to his community, making it a point to carve out time to do pro bono work that he could easily fill with paid work. Board members and executive directors of our nonprofit clients are often faced with difficult questions regarding employee theft, unemployment, performance reviews, termination and severances. Chuck handles them all – and with practical solutions to boot. His responsiveness is unparalleled. When our clients seek advice via email at 10pm on Friday night, it’s not uncommon for Chuck to respond at 2am. And these are responses with substantive answers, not merely an acknowledgement that the request was received with a promise to  “look into it on Monday.” When we recruit him for brief service, he will often take on direct representation and even additional matters for those clients – all pro bono. He consistently goes above and beyond for his clients, approaching every matter with tremendous expertise and a great attitude.”