Your Influence at Work

In addition to direct contributions of time and money, lawyers also use their network and influence in the community to advance access to justice. Karl Leinberger, an attorney at Crowley Barrett & Karaba Ltd., is one lawyer who has used his experience and influence to advance access to justice.  With Karl playing an instrumental role, the CBA and CBF led a successful advocacy effort that resulted in a groundbreaking new Illinois statute to increase funding for legal aid.  The new statute, 735 ILCS 5/2-807, requires at least half of all residual funds in class action cases in the Illinois courts to be distributed to pro bono and legal aid organizations and related access to justice initiatives for the benefit of low-income Illinois residents.

Karl played an integral role in drafting the original proposal for this legislation and negotiating its terms with other interested stakeholders, as well as using his wisdom and experience as a practicing litigator to help guide the process.  When the bill was introduced by Senator John Cullerton, Karl then traveled to Springfield to testify in favor of the bill, answered questions from legislators and other advocates, and helped shape the final bill.  With the leadership of Senator Cullerton and other supportive legislators, the bill was passed unanimously by the Illinois General Assembly and became effective last year.   Karl found the experience to be satisfying on many levels, noting that “it was great to be able to use my legal skills and experience in a different way through the legislative process, and very gratifying to know that so many more people in need will now have access to justice thanks to this new legislation.”

The new legislation is already making a significant impact.  Awards of residual funds (cy pres awards) increasingly are providing important funding for our community’s pro bono and legal aid organizations and a number of successful projects and initiatives that improve access to our justice system.  One recent example is an award Keith Keogh, an attorney at the Law Offices of Keith J. Keogh, Ltd., helped direct to the CBF.  This award made it possible for the CBF to give a $150,000 grant to the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago to fund an additional attorney for its Home Ownership Preservation Project (HOPP) for the next two years.

HOPP plays a critical role in defending low-income Chicago homeowners facing foreclosure due to predatory lending and other forms of mortgage and real estate fraud.  HOPP has represented and counseled thousands of low-income families, saving hundreds of homes and millions of dollars in home equity.  With the huge increase in foreclosures over the past two years, the addition of another attorney on the project has significantly increased LAF’s capacity to serve the growing number of people in need. Dan Lindsey, Supervisory Attorney for HOPP at LAF, said, “having an additional attorney has been a tremendous asset to HOPP.  She has enabled us to grow, to meet previously unmet needs, and to develop our team as a whole.”

For more information about how you can make a difference by using your network and influence, contact Danielle Hirsch, CBF Director of Advocacy, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 312-554-4952.