Senior Litigation Paralegal Profiled in Paralegal Today

Senior litigation paralegal Ken Berry, who is based in Winston & Strawn's Chicago office, was profiled in the July/September 2010 issue of Paralegal Today. The article, "Ken Berry: Litigation Paralegal and Award-Winning Prisoner Advocate," was featured as part of the Paralegal Spotlight.

Mr. Berry, who has been with the firm for ten years, was incarcerated for eight years due to a wrongful conviction; while incarcerated, he worked as a law clerk in the prison library and was appointed to serve as chief legal reference clerk. Berry said that it was important to secure a position in the prison law library because: "The law is what put me there; the law was going to free me. I needed to be as close to the law as I could get."

After receiving a request for assistance with his case, Winston partner Kimball Anderson agreed to represent Berry. "He had the strength to continue fighting for his innocence, to fight for a job and to fight for an education. This allowed him to overcome obstacles most people would have found formidable and indeed impossible to overcome."

Berry continues to work with Mr. Anderson and Greg McConnell, who oversees Winston's pro bono activities, working on both civil and criminal cases in state and federal court. Berry's work has been recognized through several pro bono awards, including awards from the Center for Disability and Elder Law and the Northern District of Illinois Federal Bar Association. He currently volunteers with Positive Anti-Crime Thrust, an organization that mentors recently released men in transition and work release centers.

 

*The article below is posted with permission from Paralegaltoday - Paralegaltoday.com