Carbondale attorney Sarah J. Taylor recently became program manager for the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI).  

She will be based in Champaign and oversee PILI’s pro bono program statewide, including PILI’s Pro Bono Initiative, Judicial Circuit Pro Bono committees, and new pro bono opportunities such as the Conflict of Interest Pro Bono Referral Panel and the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network.

Since 2004, Sarah has been an associate attorney with the Carbondale law firm Barrett, Twomey, Broom, Hughes & Hoke, LLP. Her practice areas have included probate, real estate, estate planning, family, civil litigation, property tax appeals, and small business representation. She has also represented Illinois in eminent domain cases as a special assistant attorney general. Additionally, she has been an adjunct law professor at Southern Illinois University School of Law, where she received her law degree, since 2010. 

An active pro bono attorney, Sarah has been a court-appointed guardian ad litem and mediator and also regularly handles pro bono cases. She has served on the board of directors for Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation and as president of Dispute Resolution Institute. She is also an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and has been responsible for coordinating the annual statewide ISBA High School Mock Trial Invitational, planning and presenting CLE programs, and authoring articles for the ISBA. In 2016, she received the ISBA Board of Governors Award.