Michelle Vodenik, director of the Public Interest Center at Chicago-Kent College of Law and senior director of career development and professionalism, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Leonard Jay Schrager Award of Excellence by the Chicago Bar Foundation.
“It is important that we have hope and that we don’t let the daily grind or upsetting stories that we hear in the news keep us from taking one small step,” said Vodenik. “All of our collective actions together make a big impact.”
The award is given to attorneys in academia who have made significant contributions to improving access to justice for those in need. The Chicago Bar Foundation serves as the charitable arm of the Chicago Bar Association and focuses on expanding access to legal services.
Chicago-Kent Dean Jason Czarnezki commented on Vodenik’s influence at the law school: “During her twenty years of dedicated service to Chicago-Kent, Michelle has provided countless students with opportunities to pursue their dreams of making a difference in the world. Michelle’s presence at the law school gives Chicago-Kent the moral compass and heart it needs to be a responsible member of the legal community, and we are honored to have her as a part of our team. This recognition from the Chicago legal community is well-earned and long overdue.”
Vodenik took charge of public interest initiatives at Chicago-Kent in 2022, repositioning them under what is now known as the Public Interest Center. She described this recognition as an opportunity to highlight ongoing public interest and pro bono work at the law school: “This is a really good opportunity to share with the Chicago legal community all of the good public interest work and pro bono work that’s taking place at the law school and has been for a lot of years.”
The Public Interest Center supports students pursuing careers in public interest law as well as encourages all students to participate in pro bono activities. Through its Pro Bono and Community Service Initiative, students who complete over 50 volunteer hours during their studies are recognized annually. In 2024–25, 284 students reported meeting this threshold.
Vodenik also established Public Service Day, an annual event where incoming students volunteer with legal aid and nonprofit organizations across Chicago during orientation. The day includes an invitation for new students to sign a Pro Bono Pledge—committing them to 50 hours of pro bono service during law school—with a record 75 percent participation rate among incoming students for 2024–25.
“There is an incredible amount of need for legal services for low-income people and working people who are lower income,” said Vodenik. “We need a lot more attorneys and law students engaging in providing pro bono legal services. Whatever we can do as a law school and that the Public Interest Center can do to facilitate that and expand upon that, we’re really motivated to do it, because there is so much need.”
The center further promotes volunteering through various programs such as assisting self-represented litigants at the Self-Help Resource Center at Richard J. Daley Center, offering free patent assistance through its Patent Hub, and supporting civic education via its Constitutional Democracy Project.
“We have the foundation. A high percentage of law students come to law school with a desire to make a positive impact in the world or to do justice. That is in survey after survey,” Vodenik added. “It is very inspiring to see the law students engaging in pro bono work. It makes me feel amazing because we, Chicago-Kent, are a part of making an impact in the larger community, and, by extension, the world.”