In 2000, the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF) and the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) jointly commissioned the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award to recognize the generally unsung pro bono contributions of attorneys in the in-house legal community and to encourage other corporate attorneys to volunteer their time and talents to help those in need.
Starting in 2003, Exelon Corporation has generously endowed the award each year. Exelon's generosity allows the winner to designate a special Chicago Bar Foundation grant to the legal aid or public interest law organization of his or her choice.
This year, Laura Hois received the award. As Senior Counsel in the U.S. Legal Department for McDonald's Corporation, Ms. Hois has volunteered countless hours to protect the elderly from real estate fraud and to safeguard the special needs of the disabled.
Having raised a child with a disability who did not survive her teens, Ms. Hois had firsthand knowledge of the particular and urgent legal needs encountered by the disabled. Her personal experiences prompted her to share her expertise with the Pro Bono Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL).
As a volunteer attorney, she has handled a range of real estate cases over the years - from mortgage fraud to title and deed cases, as well as guardianship cases. She dedicates even more of her time to mentoring other pro bono attorneys in these areas and working on systemic initiatives to combat predatory lending practices.
Ms. Hois has also found innovative ways to expand the participation in pro bono representation among her McDonald's colleagues, and she also has recruited attorneys from the firms of Foley & Lardner LLP and Dykema Gossett, PLLC to take on a variety of pro bono projects.
Ms. Hois has participated in the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI)'s in-house counsel group as well, sharing information on McDonald's successes and challenges regarding its pro bono program. Her insights have proven very helpful to other in-house attorneys in that group.
For more information about the CBF, please call (312) 554-1204 or visit www.chicagobarfoundation.org.
Note: To read the Editor's talk with Gloria Santona, General Counsel of McDonald's Corporation, about the company's commitment to social responsibility, visit www.metrocorpcounsel.com/pdf/2004/July/01,23,43,58.pdf.