Leonard Schrager
Professor and Dean Emeritus Leonard J. Schrager received the 2011 Ralph A. Gabric Lifetime Achievement Award from Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS) at a May 26, 2011, reception.
The honor was presented to Schrager for his outstanding legal career and his many contributions to public interest law, legal education and mediation. Schrager has been with CARPLS since its inception in 1993. He said CARPLS was founded because the need of the underprivileged for immediate answers to legal questions was evident to many in Chicago’s legal community. CARPLS has helped more than 350,000 clients find solutions for their basic legal problems, including housing, employment, education, consumer debt, divorce, guardianships, estates, injuries
to person or property, public benefits, health care and more. CARPLS’ experienced attorneys can help clients better understand their rights and the remedies available under the law.
Schrager is serving on the CARPLS Advisory Board and was a CARPLS board member from 1999-2007. His support of Al Schwartz, CARPLS’ executive director, has immeasurably helped the organization meet the growing legal needs of clients. Schrager said his efforts on behalf of CARPLS are his way of helping the needy who otherwise would go unrepresented.
Throughout his career, Schrager has served the legal community. He is a past president of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Foundation, and the Center for Conflict Resolution, a past board member of the Lawyer’s Trust Fund, and has served on many other panels, commissions and committees, including the Special Commission to Study the Administration of Justice in the aftermath of the federal Greylord investigation.
Schrager joined the faculty in 1980. He served as dean from 1983 to 1987, when he returned to the faculty. He retired from teaching in December 2004. Today, Schrager serves as a hearing panel member for the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, and most recently chaired the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County, evaluating judges running for retention.