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Northwestern Law's Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC) will recognize several Chicago law firms, Northwestern Law alumni, and a community leader for their contributions to juvenile justice and education as part of the center's Children's Law Pro Bono Project.

The ceremony will take place Wednesday, Feb. 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the School of Law, 375 East Chicago Avenue.

Three firms, Vedder Price, Katten Muchin Zavis & Rosenman, and Jenner & Block, are being honored for the extensive voluntary legal work their attorneys have performed in support of juvenile justice and education. These lawyers, many of whom are Northwestern Law alumni, are recruited, trained, and supervised by the CFJC to represent children charged with misdemeanors or felonies and to help children being expelled from school.

Donald B. Hilliker (JD '69) is being recognized for his work as the national pro bono partner at the law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP. He played an instrumental role in jumpstarting the firm's nationwide "Kids First" project, which focuses on providing legal representation for children in need to ensure that they receive appropriate public education and stay in school.

Beth Colgan (JD '00), an associate attorney at Perkins Coie LLP in Seattle, is being recognized for her extensive pro bono work, including her efforts in two cases involving juvenile offenders convicted of murder and serving life terms without parole. Through Colgan's aid, one client's sentence may soon be commuted to 20 years pending gubernatorial approval.

Cheryl Graves, Director of the Community Justice for Youth Institute, is being recognized for developing the Community Justice Initiative (CJI), a city-wide youth advocacy and policy project to combat the criminalization of youth and to train youth as peer educators and organizers. Graves also worked collaboratively with the Cook County State 's Attorney's Office, juvenile justice advocates, and community leaders to create the Community Panels for Youth, a program that addresses issues of juvenile crime and community safety from a restorative justice perspective.

The awards will be presented by Judge Ruben Castillo (JD '79), U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Castillo is a former advisory board member for the CFJC and teaches at the Law School as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy.

Since the Children's Law Pro Bono Project was founded in 1996, more than 350 attorneys from more than 50 prominent Chicago firms have participated in the program. Many of these lawyers become creative advocates for children in crisis, and their efforts have been instrumental in promoting zealous legal practice in the Juvenile Court of Cook County.

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