Honigman and IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law co-hosts Movies on Trial “My Cousin Vinny” in honor of Pro Bono Week

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP and IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law will co-host a special screening and panel discussion of the 1992 comedy “My Cousin Vinny” on October 23 from 1 to 5 p.m. in the law school’s Governor Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium, 565 West Adams Street (between Clinton and Jefferson streets) in Chicago.

The program is the first event of the 2015 Pro Bono Week celebration co-sponsored by the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) and the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF). It is free and open to the public. Illinois attorneys who attend are eligible for one hour of Illinois MCLE ethics credit.

“My Cousin Vinny” is the story of two New York college students arrested and accused of murder in a rural Alabama town. Vincent “Vinny” Gambini, who has never tried a criminal case and has lost each of the personal injury cases he’s tried, is called to defend the students. This fish-out-of-water comedy, which has been praised for its courtroom scenes, stars Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio and Fred Gwynne. (Tomei won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance.)

The program is Honigman’s most recent in the “Movies on Trial” CLE series where the magic of Hollywood meets insightful legal debate. Immediately following the screening, Steven A. Weiss, a Honigman partner and chair of the ABA Section on Litigation, will moderate a discussion of ethical and pro bono issues raised in the film. Panelists include the Honorable Virginia M. Kendall of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; City of Chicago Corporation Counsel Stephen R. Patton; and Dean Harold J. Krent of IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. A networking reception will immediately follow the discussion.

Established by the Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Bar Foundation in 2005, Pro Bono Week activities are designed to recognize lawyers for their pro bono work and build public support for pro bono legal programs. For more information about Pro Bono Week, please visit www.chicagobar.org/probonoweek.

Founded in 1888, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, a private, technology-focused, research university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, architecture, business, design, human sciences, applied technology, and law.