LAF's Adela Carlin Honored by La Raza as "Outstanding"

LAF's new Director of Community Engagement Adela Carlin was honored at a special luncheon hosted by La Raza on Friday, April 1, 2011.  Carlin was honored as one of five "Outstanding Latina Women" in the community.  Congratulations Adela!

(The original article, in Spanish, can be read here .)

To read the La Raza article in English, please click here .

New Federal Judge Martinez - and LAF - Featured in Chicago Tribune

Bill Martinez and LAF were featured in an article today in the Chicago Tribune.  Martinez was confirmed as a Federal Judge in Colorado on December 21, 2010, and worked at LAF in the 80's.

Former LAF Attorney William Martinez Confirmed As Colorado Federal Judge

 Bill Martinez, who worked at LAF in the 80's, was confirmed as a Federal Judge in Colorado on December 21, 2010.  Click here to read more!

Monica Torres Linares Honored with Sun-Times Fellowship

Monica Torres-Linares, a staff attorney at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, was one of five legal aid lawyers to receive a $50,000 fellowship from the Chicago Bar Foundation and the Chicago Sun-Times on Oct. 25.

The fellowships are awarded to individual legal aid or public interest law attorneys who demonstrate a commitment to public interest work, academic achievement in law school, and outstanding character and integrity. The $50,000 award will provide loan repayment assistance to the lawyers so they can afford to continue working at their public interest organizations.

Before joining the Legal Assistance Foundation in 2008, Torres-Linares worked in the Child Protection Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, the Cook County Public Defender's office, and the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund. She has served as president of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and has received the Latino Law Student Association Alumni Award from The John Marshall Law School, from which she graduated in 2002.  Congratulations Monica!

LAF Attorney and YPB Member Honored in 2010 "40 Under Forty" List

Miguel Keberlein-Gutierrez, Supervisory Attorney of LAF's Illinois Migrant Legal Assistance Project, and Kevin M. Hull,  Founder and Principal of Hull Partners Ltd. and a member of LAF's Young Professionals Board were both featured this year in the 2010 40 UnderForty List put out by the 40 Under Forty Committee at Law Bulletin Publishing Company. 

You can read the feature on Miguel here .

The feature on Kevin can be found here .

LAF is proud to join the 40 Under Forty Committee in congratulating both Miguel and Kevin for this distinguished recognition of the energy and committment they bring to their work in the legal community.

LAF Deputy Director Alan Alop Honored with Kutak-Dodds Prize

Alan Alop, LAF Deputy Director, was honored at the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association's 2010 Exemplar  Award Dinner, and presented  with the 2010 Kutak-Dodds Prize recognizing a civil legal aid attorney.  The annual presentation of the Kutak-Dodds Prizes honors the accomplishments of civil legal aid attorneys and public defenders who, through the practice of law, are contributing in a significant way to the enhancement of human dignity and quality of life of those persons unable to afford legal representation.  We are so pleased to see Alan win this prestigious prize, recongizing a distinguished career of public service and advocacy on behalf of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our community.

At the Awards Dinner, Alan - ever humble - closed his speech by honoring his clients -

"So I think it appropriate that I accept this award, gratefully, on behalf of a career’s-worth of clients.  From my first client, Gladys, a little lady with a big hospital bill, to my latest, Pedro, who toiled as a laborer in Chicago for more than forty years, only to have his life savings swindled.  And for all the clients in-between.  I accept this award on behalf of these clients and those to come."