Evans Family Foundation Donates $1 Million to LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic

Northwestern Pritzker Law is delighted to announce that the Evans Family Foundation, founded and led by alumna Christine M. Evans (JD ’03, LLM ’11), has generously committed $1 million to support the Bluhm Legal Clinic’s LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic. The funds will establish a staff attorney position for the Clinic and support the Clinic’s work and activities, including research and scholarship, teaching, and litigation.

“This generous gift from the Evans Family Foundation will allow the Bluhm Legal Clinic’s LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic to expand its impact as it pursues critical litigation and provides students with experience to develop their lawyering skills,” said interim Dean Zach Clopton. “The entire Law School extends its thanks to Christine Evans, Mike Evans, and the Foundation for their continued support.”

“I am extremely grateful to Christine and Mike Evans and the Evans Family Foundation for this transformational gift to support our Bluhm Legal Clinic’s LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic,” added Hari Osofsky, Myra and James Bradwell Professor of Law and former Dean of the Law School. “Their partnership and generosity will help ensure that this important clinic, launched this past year under the impactful leadership of Professor Kara Ingelhart, will be able to advance its critically needed work on LGBTQI+ rights. I deeply appreciate the difference their gift will make in training our students, assisting our clients, protecting rights, and advancing justice at this time of so much challenge.” 

Founded in 2024, the LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic works to promote and advance litigation in support of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) people. The Clinic was established in response to a growing escalation of harassment, discrimination, and violence targeting LGBTQI+ people across the country, which not only creates immediate harm but also leads to long-term disparities in health and economic outcomes. The Clinic allows the Law School to be responsive to the needs of LGBTQI+ individuals and organizations.

“Our Law School remains committed to the important work of the LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic and the clinical education of our students,” said Clopton. “I am grateful to Hari Osofsky for her efforts to help establish and sustain the work of this Clinic, ensuring that we can provide the best clinical education for our students as they pursue careers as attorneys and advocates.” 

The Clinic takes on cases and policy issues that provide students with ample opportunities to develop multi-dimensional lawyering skills in a growing specialization like LGBTQI+ rights, which requires skills that can be broadly applied in all kinds of legal practice. Students navigate the myriad intersectional legal challenges facing the LGBTQI+ community as a means of educating about professional duties and values-based lawyering, all while working on cutting-edge issues that prepare them for a successful legal career following Law School. 

“The Evans Family Foundation is honored to support the LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic at this critical moment in our nation’s history,” said Christine Evans, founder of the Evans Family Foundation. “This gift represents our unwavering commitment to defending the fundamental rights and dignity of LGBTQI+ individuals and communities in the face of these mounting threats. By training the next generation of civil rights attorneys and providing essential legal representation to those under attack, the clinic stands as a crucial bulwark against discrimination. We refuse to stand by as hard-won rights are rolled back; instead, we’re investing in the legal advocates and strategies that will protect vulnerable communities and ensure that equality and justice prevail.”

“I am grateful that Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is working so diligently to protect and advocate for some of the most vulnerable populations in our city and nation,” added Mike Evans.

Christine M. Evans is the founder and principal director of Shared Roots Collective. She is passionate about fostering positive connections and resolving conflicts through restorative and transformative justice approaches, with a particular focus on addressing sexual harm. With over two decades’ experience as a human rights attorney in Chicago and internationally, she draws from her knowledge of the criminal legal system, victims’ and gender rights, and issues related to sexual harm to create processes for survivors seeking accountability and justice outside traditional legal systems. Beyond her restorative justice work, Christine is also on the Executive Committee of the Law Board, and serves as the president and chief funding officer of the Evans Family Foundation, supporting Chicagoland non-profits. Christine holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University, a JD and LLM in International Human Rights from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and a graduate certification in Restorative Justice from Eastern Mennonite University.