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work, it opened the door to consideration for
other recognitions and benefits.”
Several other recipients are now in lead-
ership or director positions at their respec-
tive legal aid organizations. 2001 recipient
Meg Benson (now Executive Director at
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services) echoed
Heybach’s sentiment: “The award served as
an affirmation that I was doing a good job,
which allowed me to move forward and
make, at times, hard decisions. This was,
and remains, a high point in my career.”
Believing that the recipients may be
tempted to use the cash prize to do some-
thing altruistic with the money awarded or
give it back to their organization, Morsch
made it very clear that he wants them
to spend it on something that might be
considered frivolous, like the trip they’ve
always dreamt of taking, but put off for
financial reasons.
Se v e r a l ha ve s en t t he Mo r s ch
family postcards from around the world:
Benson’s family spent a week in London
and Paris and another family traversed
Congratulations to the recipients of
the 2015 CBA/CBF Pro Bono & Public
Service Awards
Kimball R. Anderson and Karen Gatsis Anderson
Public Interest Law Fellowship:
Candace Moore,
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
Under Law
Exelon Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award:
Claire Battle, ArcelorMittal USA
Edward J. Lewis II Pro Bono Service Award:
Gabriel
A. Fuentes, Jenner & Block LLP
Leonard Jay Schrager Award of Excellence:
Mary
Bird, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
MauriceWeigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award:
Shauna R. Prewitt, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Mea-
gher & Flom LLP
Richard J. Phelan Public Service Award:
Leslie
Landis, DomesticViolence Division, Office of the
Chief Judge of Cook County
Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award:
Phillip J.
Mohr, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
2015 Morsch Award Recipient Phil Mohr, with Tom Morsch. Photo by Bill Richert.
Australia. TomYates, Executive Director at
AIDS Legal Council and the 2013 award
recipient, took the opportunity to visit
his daughter, who was teaching English
in Vietnam at the time. He and his wife
were able to explore several parts of the
country, including Saigon, the Mekong
Delta and Hanoi. Others have put the
money towards tangible necessities, like a
second car. Heybach, for example, set aside
half of the money for herself and invested
the other half to help her young nephews
through college.
TomMorsch’s son JimMorsch chairs
the selection committee for the award.
He noted, “They’ve spent their whole
career being charitable; it’s time they
were rewarded personally for what
they’ve done.”
CBA RECORD
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