The Executive Committee of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) announced last week that they have appointed ISBA YLD Council member Michael G. Bergmann as Executive Director as of December 1, 2010.  Bergmann, who joined PILI in 2006 as Pro Bono Initiative Director, has most recently served as PILI’s Director of Programs where he expanded and advanced PILI’s Pro Bono Initiative and played a critical role in assuring the success of interns, fellows and alumni placement and educational programs.  Bergmann further brings to the position his substantial knowledge of the Illinois pro bono community as well as the experience gained through his career long commitment to providing legal services to those in need. Bergmann obtained his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from The Catholic University of America.  Before joining PILI, Bergmann served as the Guardian Ad Litem Program Director for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. During and before law school, he focused on project management and business development as a consultant with the Financial Planning Solutions Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Bergmann currently serves as Chair-Elect of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (YLD) and will become the Chair of the YLD during the 2011-12 bar year.  He is also a member of the Illinois State Bar Association where he serves on the ISBA’s Assembly and Young Lawyers Division Council, is Immediate Past Chair of the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, and previously held the position of Vice Chair of The Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section.  He additionally serves as a board member of several community organizations. Frequently recognized for his contributions to the profession and his service to the bar and public, Bergmann received the Kimball and Karen Anderson Public Interest Law Fellowship in 2005 from The Chicago Bar Foundation, and was named the 2006 ISBA YLD Young Lawyer of the Year from Cook County and the 2007 Outstanding Young Alumnus from DePaul University College of Law. “I am honored to have this opportunity to serve as PILI’s Executive Director and look forward to building on PILI’s proud history of successes, and its contributions to the highest ideals of our profession,” says Bergmann.  “PILI’s role in the Illinois legal community is critical to helping address the vast unmet legal needs of the poor and underrepresented, and I look forward to working with our partner public interest law organizations, law schools, law firms, and corporations in meeting those needs.” Since its founding in 1977, the non-profit Public Interest Law Initiative has sought to cultivate within the Illinois legal community a lifelong commitment to public interest law by creating opportunities for law students and lawyers to provide public interest and pro bono work. PILI does this through internships, fellowships and educational opportunities for law students and new law school graduates, and by working collaboratively, through its Pro Bono Initiative, with law firms, corporations, public interest law agencies and law schools to create and promote work environments, programs and opportunities that allow new associates, seasoned attorneys and senior members of the bar to identify pro bono needs and perform meaningful public interest law services.  Thus, at each stage of their legal careers, PILI helps attorneys fulfill their professional responsibilities and personal commitments to equal access to justice.