JUNE 6, 2024 -- Jenner & Block honored lawyers and professional staff from across offices and practices at its annual pro bono awards ceremony. The winners embrace the firm’s commitment to ensuring that vulnerable communities have access to justice.
The winners of the 2024 Albert E. Jenner Pro Bono Award, which was established in 2002 to honor lawyers for extraordinary service, are:
- Partner Laurie Edelstein for her work challenging the increasing tide of state laws that aim to dismantle the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, including this victory in Iowa;
- Special Counsel Ali Alsarraf for his broad pro bono practice that included mobilizing an effort to help Palestinians evacuate from war-torn Gaza to the United States and securing a US Supreme Court victory on behalf of a Muslim-American who had been unconstitutionally placed on the government’s “No-Fly” list; and
- A team comprising Partner Sheila Kailus; Associates Allyssa Milam, Jessica Black, and Abraham Salander; and Paralegal Jiwon Kim for helping a Chicago neighborhood organization move closer to its vision of a community center.
The winner of the Jenner & Block Award for Excellence in Pro Bono or Public Service, established in 2018 to honor professional staff, is Paralegal Grace Liberman. She was recognized for her invaluable service to various teams, including one that is representing a Florida reproductive health clinic that had been denied a license. Grace joined the team in Florida, where she was the “glue that kept us together,” as one colleague said. She also prepared and submitted asylum applications for a family of six Afghan refugees.
The firm honored Partner Terry Truax with the second Tom Sullivan Lifetime Achievement Pro Bono Award, named after the late Partner Tom Sullivan who helped launch the firm’s pro bono program in the 1950s. Terry has been at Jenner for his entire legal career, which has been defined by his leadership. He is a former member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, a winner of the Albert E. Jenner Pro Bono Award, and a former managing partner. Since joining the firm in 1988, Terry has worked on just over 70 pro bono matters, including more than 40 felony criminal matters, and averaging more than 110 hours a year.
Related Attorneys
Related Locations
© 2026 Jenner & Block LLP. Attorney Advertising. Jenner & Block LLP is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. This publication, presentation, or event is not intended to provide legal advice but to provide information on legal matters and/or firm news of interest to our clients and colleagues. Readers or attendees should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to matters mentioned in this publication or at this event. The attorney responsible for this communication is Brent E. Kidwell, Jenner & Block LLP, 353 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Jenner & Block London LLP, an affiliate of Jenner & Block LLP, is a limited liability partnership established under the laws of the State of Delaware, USA and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with SRA number 615729. Information regarding the data we collect and the rights you have over your data can be found in our Privacy Notice. For further inquiries, please contact dataprotection@jenner.com.