Benjamin Phillip Kailin

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998, with a B.A. in Sociology, (with high honors in the major); Behavioral Science and Law, (with honors in the major); and a Certificate in Integrated Liberal Studies. After graduating from college, I stayed in Madison, where I served as a public school teacher for students with profound disabilities. After teaching for three years, I decided to pursue law school to address many of the social issues I observed as an educator. In 2004 was awarded a law degree from Case Western Reserve School of Law, with a Certificate in Civil Litigation.

During law school, I was a student mentor in Big Buddies, where I mentored and tutored a middle school student from East Cleveland and was also an instructor for the Street Law Program. I served as a clinical intern with the Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic Center. During the summers of 2002 and 2003, I was a legal extern for the U.S. Department of Education in the Office for Civil Rights. In my final year of law school, I was a judicial extern for the Honorable Judge John M. Manos in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. I was also president of the Jewish Law Students Association and a Trustee on the Board of Trustees for the Hillel Foundation of Case Western Reserve University.

After becoming licensed, I began my legal career as an Assistant Public Guardian for Cook County, where I represented abused and neglected minors in Circuit Court. In 2007, I transitioned into the private sector and worked for a boutique employment law litigation firm in Chicago. I represented clients in state and federal court, the EEOC, the Illinois Court of Claims, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Human Rights Commission, and the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. I also worked on a number of large commercial litigation cases. In 2012, Billy and I formed FirmEquity.

I am a pro bono attorney for Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law,The Pro Bono Center for Disability and Elder Law, and serve on the board of Keshet, an organization devoted to providing recreational and educational opportunities for children with developmental disabilities.