Press Releases

CHICAGO - The intellectual property law firm Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, winner of the 2001 Pro Bono Initiative Award from the Public Interest Law Initiative of Chicago (PILI), will participate in a ceremony affirming its commitment to pro bono work.

The ceremony is hosted by PILI's Pro Bono Initiative (PBI) and will be held on April 29, 2002, at 2:00 p.m. in the ceremonial courtroom of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Everett McKinley Dirksen Building, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago.

The ceremony celebrates the signing of the "Chief Legal Officers' Statement of Principles" and the "Law Firm Statement of Principles." PBI developed the two Statements of Principles, one for law departments and one for law firms, which affirm a commitment to pro bono work as well as setting guidelines and goals. Brinks President Jerry Jacover will represent the firm and sign the statement, along with representatives from 30 other law firms and 12 corporate legal departments.

"As the first intellectual property firm in Chicago to establish an active pro bono program, Brinks is a trailblazer in pro bono work and an important part of this ceremony," said PILI Executive Director Roslyn C. Lieb.

Brinks' pro bono projects include projects referred by the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago and Lawyers for the Creative Arts. "We have made a strong commitment to give back to our community and we are proud to join so many others in the legal industry in affirming that commitment," said Jacover.

For nearly 25 years, the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) of Chicago, a non-profit organization, has offered internships and fellowships for law students and new graduates who want to work at public interest law agencies in Chicago. PILI's Pro Bono Initiative (PBI) currently involves 58 representatives of in-house law departments, law firms, a foundation and law schools, all working to address the extremely serious problem of the unmet legal needs of the poor.

Since 1999, the PBI has taken the unique approach of reaching out to the corporate and banking law departments as well as law firms, and asking them all to join forces to increase the pool of lawyers who are involved in pro bono work and supportive of meeting the legal needs of our disadvantaged populations. As a result, a number of area corporations have begun or improved highly successful programs that have moved their in-house counsel from devoting efforts on general community service to providing legal services to individuals and community groups.

Additionally, PBI has encouraged transactional attorneys to use their unique skills to assist non-profit organizations and micro-entrepreneurs and is working on establishing a network of attorneys at firms and in-house law departments to advocate on behalf of legislation geared toward making the legal system more accessible to individuals with limited means. For more information, visit the organization at www.pili-law.org.

Founded in 1917, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione is based in Chicago, with offices in San Jose, Calif., Indianapolis, Ind., Ann Arbor, Mich. and Arlington, Va. The firm, co-creator and co-sponsor of the 2002 Chicago International IP Conference, is one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the country, with approximately 130 attorneys who specialize in intellectual property litigation and all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and Internet work, unfair competition and technology and licensing agreements. For more information about the 2002 Chicago International IP Conference, visit the official Web site at: www.ipchicago.org.