Hírek

10 Jul 2008

DLA Piper’s Poe wins Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award

Honor Recognizes Exceptional Contributions to Legal Profession and Pro Bono Work

Sajtóközlemény

(Chicago) – DLA Piper today announced that Grace Y. Poe, a real estate partner in the firm’s Chicago office, has won the Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award from the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF). She will be honored at a luncheon July 14 at the Fairmont Hotel, 200 N. Columbus Drive.

The Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award is presented annually to honor one young Chicago-area attorney who has made outstanding contributions to the legal profession, the organized bar and the Chicago community.

“We are proud that the CBF has recognized Grace’s dedication to the Chicago legal community and her unyielding commitment to pro bono work as well,” said William Rudnick, managing partner of DLA Piper’s Chicago office. “She is truly deserving of this award, and everyone in the Chicago office, and throughout the entire firm, congratulates her.”

Poe has been significantly involved in pro bono work throughout the Chicagoland area. Currently, she is one of two co-leaders for the Lawyer’s Committee on Civil Rights Under Law’s Chicago branch of Election Protection, the nation’s largest non-partisan voter protection coalition. This project not only covers the greater Chicago area, but is reaching out to other communities throughout the country. The goal of Election Protection, which was born out of the difficulties surrounding the 2000 elections, is to guide voters through the voting process, helping to ensure that all eligible American citizens have the opportunity to cast a meaningful ballot and have that ballot counted.

On February 5, the day of the Illinois primary, Poe helped run the first-ever Chicago-based Election Protection hotline for voters – headquartered at DLA Piper’s Chicago office. To prepare for this event, Poe met with local election officials in Cook County to familiarize them with the nonpartisan goals of Election Protection. In addition, she coordinated publicity for the hotline and ultimately managed the hotline operation, including arranging the facilities, phone banks, computers and materials for the volunteers.

The Election Protection project was a great success in Chicago with the volunteers receiving a steady stream of calls throughout the day. Poe is now preparing her team for the November election.

Poe also works with the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, participating and volunteering in mentoring events on its behalf such as receptions for law students. She is co-chair of the nominating committee of the blue ribbon panel for the Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards Dinner. The benefit has raised nearly $10 million over the past 20 years to support the hunger relief programs of the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Poe concentrates her practice in commercial real estate development, acquisition and disposition, finance and leasing. She has represented numerous institutional, commercial and developer clients in connection with the purchase, financing, development, leasing and disposition of a broad array of property types, including office, retail and hotel.

She is experienced in drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements, reciprocal easement and operating agreements, site development agreements, financing documents and leases.

Poe received a B.S. from Northwestern University and a J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association.