John Gallo will take up the position in the autumn replacing Diana White who is retiring at the end of this month after two decades with the organisation. Sidley Austin, headquartered in Chicago, is one of the largest law firms in the country, with 1,836 lawyers and $1.93 billion in revenue in 2016. LAF provides impoverished Cook County residents with free services in legal matters related to family, housing, public benefits, consumer issues, and immigration and employment. It has a $14 million budget and a staff of 125, including 75 attorneys.

A partner for more than two decades

Mr Gallo has been a partner at Sidley for 21 years. The litigation practice he leads includes more than 100 lawyers with clients such as Eli Lilly and General Electric. He also acts as global co-leader of the firm's white collar practice group. In addition, he represents indigent clients pro bono in criminal cases and leads the firm's pro bono project representing clients on Alabama’s death and in Illinois, sucessfully overturned the conviction of a client accused in a 1978 murder. Before joining Sidley, Mr Gallo spent a decade as an assistant US Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois.