Our Pro Bono Commitment
Goldberg Kohn is committed to supporting and assisting individuals and organizations in the communities where we live and work. Driven by the interests of our lawyers, we provide legal representation in projects locally and nationally that are pro bono publico (“for the public good”). We contribute professional skills and substantial resources in cases and projects that assist those who could not otherwise obtain legal representation, and we support diverse social causes and enhance access to the arts and cultural expressions of Chicago.
Goldberg Kohn was one of the first law firms to make a 100% commitment to the Chicago Bar Foundation’s inaugural Investing in Justice Campaign, a fundraising effort designed to address the legal aid crisis in Chicago through financial support for legal aid attorneys.
But we don’t stop there. Years ago, the principals established a charitable foundation that annually provides financial support to scores of local, regional and national charities, and civic and cultural organizations.
Supporting Nonprofits
Assisting organizations with completing the extensive paperwork necessary to become a nonprofit organization is another way Goldberg Kohn attorneys have helped organizations like the Coalition for Education on Sexual Orientation, a group dedicated to promoting the safety and well-being of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth, and ‘N The Spirit Transformational Living, which provides counseling and housing for women suffering from addiction and domestic abuse, in obtaining nonprofit status in Illinois and tax-exempt status with the IRS.
Other nonprofits we have supported include:
- Serving as general outside counsel for the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, a nonprofit organization that directs the “Pathways to Freedom” program for underprivileged children.
- Providing ongoing representation of the Chicago Charter School Foundation, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, the Salvation Army and the Suburban Asthma Consortium in diverse matters of significance in their continuing service to communities in the Chicago area.
- Representing the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation in defense of a fraudulent conveyance adversary proceeding stemming from corporate charitable donations by an entity that is now in bankruptcy.
- Representing Unity Productions Foundation with respect to general corporate, nonprofit and media legal issues, including the negotiation and drafting of director and funding agreements for historical PBS documentaries.
- Obtaining nonprofit status for the Chicago Training Center, a unique organization that involves underserved Chicago youth in a community rowing program designed to both enhance their athletic development and provide opportunities for personal growth through teamwork, discipline and educational excellence.
- Representing Project: Philanthropy, a charitable organization of design and advertising professionals utilizing their skills for the benefit of local charities, in an application for tax-exempt status and on general nonprofit issues.
- Representing Friends of Battered Women and Their Children with respect to the organization’s trademark and intellectual property issues, and in general corporate filings.
- Representing the Make-A-Wish Foundation with respect to review, negotiation and execution of contracts in the course of its nonprofit operations.
- Representing the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law with respect to its operational issues.
Representative Pro Bono Work
Examples include:
- Serving as lead trial counsel in a class action lawsuit on behalf of 600,000 children eligible for Medicaid against the Illinois Departments of Public Aid and Human Services, resulting in a landmark decision vindicating the rights of children to health care.
- Serving as co-counsel in a federal lawsuit that challenged the validity of a new federal law requiring 50 million Medicaid recipients and applicants to prove their U.S. citizenship with passports, birth certificates and other special documents or lose their public health care coverage. The resulting litigation leveraged a change to federal law.
- Representing immigrants seeking political asylum through the Heartland Alliance/Midwest Immigration and Human Rights Center.
- Providing ongoing representation of the Chicago Charter School Foundation, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, the Salvation Army and the Suburban Asthma Consortium, and many other nonprofits in diverse matters of significance in their continuing service to communities in the Chicago area.
- Representing incarcerated individuals in the Illinois Appellate Courts and in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of incarcerated individuals.
Our Accomplishments on Behalf of Others
In the past two years, our attorneys have donated thousands of hours of their time to civic, charitable and nonprofit organizations, including high impact and high profile work unique to a law firm our size.
To learn more about Goldberg Kohn's Pro Bono Policy please click here.
