CBA Record July-August 2015

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Chicago Bar Foundation
Report
By Angelika Labno
CBF Administrative &
Communications Coordinator
Each year, the CBF awards the
Thomas H. Morsch Public Service
Award, the premier public recogni-
tion for long-time legal aid and public
interest law attorneys in Chicago. Recently,
Chicago’s legal aid community received
some great news when Tom Morsch and
his family committed to continue their
generous endowment of this prestigious
award for an additional five years.
Morsch has received much-deserved
recognition over the years for his tireless
pro bono efforts and exemplary leader-
ship in the legal community on access
to justice issues. As a longtime partner
at Sidley Austin and pro bono leader
within the firm, he was one of the earliest
advocates for getting private law firms to
commit to pro bono service. Yet Morsch
always felt that the private bar received a
disproportionate amount of recognition
for their pro bono contributions com-
pared to the lawyers who had dedicated
their careers to public interest law, often
at great financial sacrifice.
During his time as President of the
CBF in the mid-1990s, Morsch got to
know some of the lawyers doing excellent
work at Chicago’s pro bono and legal aid
organizations every day outside of the
spotlight. At the close of his two-year term,
Morsch wanted to find a way to recognize
extraordinary public interest lawyers. So,
in partnership with the CBF, he created
the Thomas H. Morsch Public Service
Award. The award includes a substantial
cash prize to recipients, thanks to a gener-
ous endowment from the Morsch family.
“It always annoyed me that the people
who did pro bono work at large corporate
law firms were doing it on a lark; they
were getting a lot of publicity and also
were making a lot of money as lawyers,”
Morsch quipped. “In the meantime, there
were people that dedicated their whole lives
to this stuff, usually working at nonprofits
to help the poor or those discriminated
against.”
Since 1998, 19 outstanding lawyers from
across the public interest legal spec-
trum have been lauded with the Morsch
Award. They are champions for the poor,
homeless, or disabled, or have worked tire-
lessly to ensure basic rights such as access
to healthcare or children’s safety. Morsch
describes the “perfect Morsch candidate”
as a top notch lawyer from a pro bono
or legal aid organization who has made a
demonstrable difference to Chicago’s legal
community. He or she exhibits traits of
perseverance and modesty, and is relatively
“unsung” for their exemplary efforts.
On July 14, the most recent name was
added to the list of deserving honorees at
the CBA and CBF Pro Bono and Public
Service Awards Luncheon: Phillip J. Mohr
of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.
Mohr has instilled a love for pro bono in
thousands of Chicago attorneys and law
students and made a significant impact in
family law through casework and develop-
ing innovative projects.
Rene Heybach of Chicago Coalition
for the Homeless, the first recipient of
the Morsch Award in 1998, feels a sense
of community with other Morsch recipi-
ents. “There’s a great bond I feel with folks
receiving that award, and that feeling of
support, collegiality, and collaboration
gets renewed every time the award gets
presented. None of us can work alone, and
none of us wins something alone.”
Receiving the award was a like a stamp of
validation for Heybach. “During that period,
you didn’t see your colleagues in public inter-
est getting recognized in a meaningful way.
Once the bar had a formal recognition of my
CBF Morsch Award Continues to Recognize
Extraordinary Legal Aid Attorneys
More information about the CBA & CBF’s
Pro Bono Awards luncheon is available at
22 JULY/AUGUST 2015