2025 CLP Award for Professional Excellence: John G. Levi

On April 3, 2025, the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession presented John G. Levi, chair of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), with its Award for Professional Excellence, for his lifelong commitment to pro bono services and access to justice. Levi, who is also a partner in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin, LLP, was elected chair of the board of LSC in 2010. The Legal Services Corporation is the largest national funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans, distributing funding to 130 nonprofit legal aid programs around the country. Martha Minow, 300th Anniversary University Professor at Harvard University, moderated a conversation with Levi, discussing his career and what motivated his lifetime commitment to serving the public interest. The presentation of the award followed a conference on “Inequality, Access to Justice, and the Rule of Law.” All events took place at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

In accepting this award, Levi joins a select group of past recipients, including: the late Honorable Ralph Gants, Chief Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; Kenneth I. Chenault, (former) CEO and Chairman, American Express; Sherrilyn Ifill,(former) President & Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; the Hon. Robert Wilkins, U.S. Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; Mary Ann Hynes, Senior Counsel, Dentons; Roberta Cooper Ramo, Partner, Modrall Sperling; President, American Law Institute; Regina Pisa, Chairman Emeritus and Partner, Goodwin Procter; Mark Harris, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Axiom Global, Inc.; Kim Rivera, (former) Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, HP Inc.; Amy Weaver, President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, (formerly) General Counsel and Secretary, Salesforce; and the late Lewis Kaden, Senior Advisor, Arcelor Mittal, SA Former Vice Chairman, Citigroup.

About John G. Levi

John G. Levi was nominated to serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation by President Barack Obama on August 6, 2009, and his nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 19, 2010. He was elected Chairman of the LSC Board by his fellow Board members on April 7, 2010 and his re-nomination was confirmed by the Senate in December of 2014.

Mr. Levi is a partner in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin, LLP. His practice focuses on employment litigation, executive compensation matters, and labor management relations. Mr. Levi represents corporate clients before numerous courts, agencies and arbitration forums. He also gives guidance on internal employment policies and governance.

Mr. Levi is past chair of Sidley’s Law School Recruiting Committee and heads the firm’s committee overseeing its adopt-a-school programs. He has been involved in issues regarding juvenile justice and access to justice for many years, serving on the Board of the Cook County Justice for Children. Mr. Levi also serves on the Advisory Board for the Northwestern University Law School Center on Wrongful Convictions.

He was President and a longtime Trustee of the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, and in 2014 was honored by being made a Life Trustee of the School. He is the recipient of the 2004 Abraham Lincoln Marovitz “Lend A Hand” volunteer award, and was awarded an Honorary Diploma by the Parker School in 2003. Mr. Levi received the inaugural Mikva Challenge Corporate Citizenship Award for civic leadership to improve the lives of Chicago youth in 2011. Mr. Levi was elected in 2013 as a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and was recognized in the 2014 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in Labor Law Management and the Legal 500 U.S. 2013 for Labor and Employment.

Mr. Levi received his B.A. with honors from the University of Rochester in 1969, and earned his J.D. in 1972 and LL.M. in 1973 from Harvard Law School.