• For the Community - Our Pro Bono Contributions.pdf

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. 

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 an estimated 3,500 hours of their time to civic, chairtable and nonprofit organizations, including high impact and high profile work unique to a law firm our size.

Our Pro Bono Brochure provides a more comprehensive snapshot of our attorneys' consistent commitment to pro bono work and the many awards and honors they have received for their work.