Phi Alpha Delta Awards Scholarships for Summer Legal Studies Program

Codilis & Associates, PC, is a Burr Ridge, Illinois-based legal practice with extensive experience in real estate and mortgage lending law. Active participants in the legal professional community, many Codilis and Associates attorneys are members of Phi Alpha Delta (PAD), an international law fraternity.

Each summer, PAD helps to organize a Legal Studies Institute (LSI) that is co-sponsored by The Fund for American Studies and the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. An eight-week intensive program, LSI gives law students hands-on experience in constitutional interpretation and introduces them to protections related to free enterprise through classes, legal internships, career development and networking sessions, and a lecture series that includes experts such as constitutional scholars, judges, and practicing attorneys.

Members of PAD who wish to participate in LSI are eligible to receive a $1,000 scholarship to cover the costs of the program if they meet basic application requirements. Past LSI participants have interned at organizations such as the American Bar Association and the Federal Trade Commission.

Codilis & Associates Supports Mercy Home For more than 125 years

Mercy Home has given hope to children experiencing trauma. Today, with support from generous donors such as Codilis & Associates, the home continues to fulfill its mission to ensure that every child receives a safe, secure home with loving adults. The home provides both residential programs and community-based opportunities. The residential programs, funded by donations, operate on a sliding fee scale that depends on income. A guardian can pay as little as $12.50 a month to place a youth in Mercy Home.

Mercy Home houses the boys and girls on separate campuses, and a child must be at least 11 years old to enter the residential programs. Children attend classes at local private schools and receive intense academic, social, and psychological help at the home. They live in dormitory style rooms, take part in chores, and eat family-style meals. Many Mercy Home residents work and volunteer in the communities surrounding the homes.

While they come from diverse backgrounds, these children share two things: they have all experienced highly traumatic situations, and they all want to make a positive effort to move forward and lead healthy, productive lives. A Chicago institution that has produced police officers, chefs, and successful parents, Mercy Home offers a unique way forward for troubled youth.