Award Named for Late ISBA Lawyer Who Cared

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Many citizens have a street, a building or a local ballpark named after them, but far fewer people have an award named in their honor. The late Joseph Bartylak, of Alton, is one of those exceptional lawyers. 

The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) recently established the Joseph R. Bartylak Memorial Legal Services Award to honor a man who made such an extraordinary commitment to the delivery of legal services in Illinois.

Joe, who passed away in August 2010, was a long-time active member of the ISBA. More than that, he was an attorney who committed his career to the legal services profession, acting as executive director of the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation for nearly 30 years. He also helped establish the Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program (LAP), a not-for-profit organization that helps Illinois lawyers, judges, law students, and their families struggling with alcohol abuse, drug dependency, and mental health problems. 

For Joe, providing exemplary legal services to Illinois’ low-income population was his passion and life’s work. The ISBA established the award to honor a civil legal services attorney who also has provided the highest caliber of legal representation and services to Illinois’ low-income population. 

More about Joe:

• He joined the staff of the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation when it was founded in 1972 and became its executive director in 1976. 

• He was at the helm while Land of Lincoln expanded into 65 southern Illinois counties and established several regional offices throughout its 33,000-square-mile service area. 

• After retiring from Land of Lincoln in 2003, he continued to serve the profession as the first downstate associate director of the Lawyers' Assistance Program (LAP). 

• A past president of LAP who has served on its board for 25 years, Joe was a Charter Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation, a trustee of the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice, and a past president of the Madison County Bar Association. 

• During his lifetime, he received numerous awards including being named a Laureate of the ISBA’s Academy of Illinois Lawyers in 2005.