The Joseph R. Bartylak Memorial Legal Services Award

The Illinois State Bar Association Standing Committee on Delivery of Legal Services (DLS) is seeking nominations for the ISBA Joseph R. Bartylak Memorial Legal Services Award. The award is named in memory of Alton attorney Joe Bartylak, who passed away in August 2010.

Joe was a long-time, active member of the ISBA, an ISBA Laureate Award winner, and one of the chair emeriti of the DLS Committee, during a time in which it oversaw the establishment of the Illinois Lawyer Finder service. Joe was Executive Director of the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation for nearly 30 years, and he helped to establish the Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program.

Joe’s contributions to the public and to his colleagues in the legal community over his nearly 60 year legal career are numerous. He was a tireless advocate for increasing access to justice and the delivery of the highest caliber of legal services to low-income and vulnerable residents in 65 counties throughout central and southern Illinois, over a 33,000 square mile service area.

Joe was also a Charter Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation, a trustee of the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice, and a past president of the Madison County Bar Association, and recipient of many distinguished legal service award.

The ISBA’s Delivery of Legal Services committee has established this Joseph R. Bartylak Memorial Legal Services Award to annually honor the extraordinary commitment and dedication of civil legal services attorneys who have provided the highest caliber of compassionate legal representation and outstanding service to Illinois’ vulnerable and low-income population.

There are two categories for this award: (1) attorneys with 10 years of practice or less; or (2) attorneys with more than 10 years of practice.

The nominees must be an employed attorney or retiree of an established Illinois legal services organization, members in good- standing of the ISBA, and have been licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois for a minimum of three (3) years.

The Illinois Bar Foundation will award a total of $1,500 in grants in honor of the Joseph R. Bartylak Memorial Legal Services Award to the Illinois not-for-profit legal aid organizations through which the awardees provide, or has provided, civil legal services. The Illinois Bar Foundation, in partnership with the Illinois State Bar Association, seeks to enhance the recognition of this prestigious award as part of the Foundation’s effort to encourage and acknowledge civil legal services.

Required Information for Nominations

(Please see nomination form for a complete list of criteria and requirements.)

• Name, address, email address, fax, and telephone number of the Nominee.
• Name of the IL Legal Services Organization where nominee is employed, or retired, and dates of employment.
• Date of nominee’s bar entry.
• Nominator (if different from the nominee, please include contact information and member number)
• A résumé or summary about the individual being nominated.
• Letter of Nomination from a colleague in legal community: one (1) required.
• Letters of Support for nomination by anyone who is familiar with the work of the nominee: three (3) required.

If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Burkholder at MBurkholder@isba.org.

Nominations are closed, please check back in the fall to nominate someone next year.