Jones Day partner Jeremy Cole to receive Volunteer of the Year Award from Working in the Schools
Jeremy Cole, a partner in the Firm's Business & Tort Litigation Practice resident in the Chicago Office, will receive the Working in the Schools (WITS) 2022 Alter & Stone Volunteer of the Year Award.
WITS, founded in 1991, is a nonprofit that facilitates literacy programs throughout Chicago Public Schools. It sets students on a trajectory of success by building critical literacy skills and developing positive self-identity through volunteer-driven mentorship programs and teacher-led professional development opportunities.
The Jones Day and WITS partnership began in 2009. Since then, the Firm has conducted a weekly reading program each school year in which lawyer volunteers read one-on-one with Chicago Public School elementary students. For several years, the Firm's volunteers went to Manierre Elementary School and read on-site with their students. Not long ago, the Chicago Office began hosting a Workplace Mentoring Program where students would travel via bus from Manuel Perez Public School in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood to the office after school and read with their volunteers. During this twelve-year partnership, the Firm has provided both financial support to the organization and pro bono legal support on various matters.
Jeremy Cole is a trial lawyer with nearly 25 years of experience in high-stakes lawsuits and arbitrations both in the United States and internationally. He represents clients in contract disputes arising from license, collaboration, acquisition, and other commercial agreements across various industries. Mr. Cole became a WITS Board Member in 2009, the year the Firm started its program, and joined the Executive Committee in 2012. He also served as President of the Board from 2015 to 2020, and as Board Chair from 2020 to 2022. He has also served as a reading volunteer each year in the Firm's program.
The Alter & Stone Volunteer of the Year Award, named after WITS' founders Joanne Alter and Marion Stone, will be presented at the WITS Blackboard Affair Gala in Chicago on Saturday, November 5.
