Meet Our 2021 Award Winners

Be a Light for Justice Award

Honoring an attorney who has achieved a meaningful and lasting expansion of access to justice.

Benjamin C. Weinberg and Dentons

Ben Weinberg, Pro Bono Partner at Dentons, leads the firm’s pro bono programs in Chicago and collaborates with Dentons' global and national pro bono committees. In Chicago, Weinberg and Dentons partnered with Legal Aid Chicago and  Ascend Justice, a local agencies that assist survivors of gender-based violence, in the identification of barriers to appeals in domestic violence cases. When it turned out that the biggest barrier in those cases was the cost of the court transcript, Weinberg worked with Dentons to establish a program whereby the firm would underwrite those costs, expanding access to justice to low-income survivors. As part of a long-term partnership with the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), Weinberg and Dentons volunteer attorneys have meaningfully expanded legal aid services in immigration law, primarily by representing asylum cases and DACA applicants, including co-hosting NIJC’s DACA Renewal Clinics via Zoom—making legal support accessible amidst the pandemic. Dentons attorneys are also committed to working for racial justice, LGBTQIA rights, and representing survivors of violence. One recent example is the lawsuit the firm brought on behalf of the victims of a 2019 California Synagogue shooting against the manufacturer of the weapons used. Through millions of dollars in donated pro bono fees and numerous additional volunteer efforts, Dentons plays a critical role in promoting a robust legal aid landscape—with Weinberg leading their efforts in Chicago. 

Ambassador for Justice Award

Honoring a GCLC staff member who has shown extraordinary achievement in the area of community outreach.

Ariel Valdes, Greater Chicago Legal Clinic

Ariel Valdes has worked with GCLC since 1987 and celebrates his 30th anniversary as a lawyer this year. During Valdes’ tenure at the Clinic, he has held many titles. As a student at Northern Illinois University College of Law, Valdes spent his summers working as a paralegal in the Clinic’s Pilsen office. Upon graduation, he joined the Clinic as a Staff Attorney. Over the following years, he practiced many different types of law and staffed many of the Clinic’s help desks. Since the early 2000’s, his practice has focused on real estate transactions. Valdes currently serves as GCLC’s Director of Operations, providing leadership and assistance to all staffers across practice areas. Learn more about Ariel Valdes here.

Charles J. O'Laughlin Memorial Award

Honoring a law firm or corporate legal department that engages in extensive community involvement or volunteerism.

King & Spalding

King & Spalding is a global law firm representing leading companies across the country and around the world. Since its Chicago office was founded four years ago, the firm’s Chicago-based attorneys and other team members have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to providing pro bono legal services to members of marginalized communities in Chicago and across Illinois. Those efforts have focused primarily on civil rights, immigration, and criminal justice. For example, in partnership with the ACLU and another Chicago law firm, a King & Spalding-led trial team won an unprecedented victory for all transgender prisoners in Illinois: an order permanently enjoining the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) from continuing to delay or deny necessary medical and mental health care to inmates with gender dysphoria. Firm attorneys represented a former IDOC inmate in a civil action seeking damages relating to his confinement, without due process, to one year in disciplinary segregation. The firm’s Chicago team has been involved in numerous pro bono immigration matters, such as the decade-long representation of a gay, HIV+ Honduran man, which recently culminated in an order granting him withholding of removal. They also contribute to many of the firm’s broader pro bono initiatives. These include representing capital defendants in habeas and clemency proceedings, representing immigrants detained in unsafe facilities, assisting in the reunification of immigrant families separated at the border, assisting Dreamers with DACA renewal applications, and supporting nonpartisan voter protection efforts.

Pro Bono Service Award

Honoring a longstanding pro bono partner of the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic.

Sharon Hwang and McAndrews, Held & Malloy

Sharon Hwang has served as a dedicated member of Greater Chicago Legal Clinic’s Board of Directors for the past eight years, and as president for the last four. In her final year as board president, GCLC is proud to honor Hwang and her firm, McAndrews, Held & Malloy , for their steadfast commitment to the Clinic’s work and legal aid in Chicago. During her tenure, Hwang played a critical role in the Clinic’s 2019 strategic planning process, increasing the Board’s diversity and engagement, and establishing pro bono partnerships. Last year, she organized a team of legal marketing professionals, graphic designers, and other technical specialists—all working pro bono—who helped Clinic staff completely reconceptualize and rebuild the organization’s website. Twenty-two McAndrews attorneys have become important collaborators in the Clinic’s Criminal Records program, a partnership Hwang also helped organize, through their pro bono participation in the Expungement and Sealing Live Call at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. Firm attorneys have provided pro bono assistance in other ways as well. One notable recent example is the work of McAndrews attorney Ben Mahon, who assisted Clinic attorneys with a successful appeal to the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District. Hwang and her McAndrews colleagues, through numerous collaborations, have provided invaluable assistance to GCLC for both programmatic client legal work and mission-critical organizational initiatives.