Leon Despres

Leon M. Despres is the founder of the firm, where he has practiced civil rights, labor, and estate planning law since his graduation from the University of Chicago on the eve of the Great Depression.

Opening a law office in the historic Chicago Temple Building, where it remains today, Mr. Despres practiced law alongside luminaries such as Clarence Darrow. Mr. Despres became widely known for his work in civil rights, notably serving as defense counsel in a murder case that shed light on the horrific conditions of Chicago's slums and was profiled in the August 1948 issue of Harper's Magazine.

Best known for his legendary service as an alderman from Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, Mr. Despres authored landmark legislation to improve access to housing for the poor and for minorities, ban discrimination from city government, and preserve Chicago's landmark buildings. During his two decades of often solitary battles on behalf of civil rights, Mr. Despres became known as "the liberal conscience of Chicago."

After retiring from the City Council in 1975, Mr. Despres served as parliamentarian during the Jane Byrne and Harold Washington administrations.

Mr. Despres is the author of Challenging the Daley Machine (Northwestern), a political memoir that documents his battles against the corruption and cronyism that defined Chicago politics. Now 100 years old, Mr. Despres continues to live in his beloved Hyde Park, where he remains active in civic life and still gives occasional speeches and lectures.

In 2005, Mr. Despres received the University of Chicago's prestigious Benton Medal for Distinguished Service. He is only the eighth individual to have ever received the medal, which was established in 1967.