CBA Record

Chicago Bar Foundation Report

CBF Morsch Award Continues to Recognize Extraordinary Legal Aid Attorneys

By Angelika Labno CBF Administrative &

Communications Coordinator E ach 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. More information about the CBA & CBF’s Pro Bono Awards luncheon is available at chicagobarfoundation.org/awards

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

22 JULY/AUGUST 2015