Investing in Justice

Legal Aid Academy


Providing Training and Professional Development Pro Bono


The CBF Legal Aid Academy is an innovative new pro bono program to improve training and professional development opportunities for legal aid attorneys and staff.   The Academy was developed and is overseen by a talented and diverse Advisory Committee made up of members from the Chicago legal community. 

Through the collective efforts of the Chicago legal community, the Academy strives to meet the core training and professional development needs of the approximately 300 legal aid attorneys who serve the more than 1.3 million low-income residents of the Chicago area. Without further sapping already stretched legal aid budgets, the Academy provides legal aid attorneys with improved opportunities for needed training and professional development so that low-income individuals in the Chicago area will continue to be represented by high-quality and experienced legal aid attorneys.

The Academy provides training mainly through two complimentary systems: (1) Coordinated Training, through which legal aid attorneys join already existing training programs at law firms and other organizations, where the subject matter is appropriate and space is available; and (2) Customized Training, through which firms, legal consultants, and others in the legal community create and present trainings customized for the legal aid community.

The Academy relies on pro bono contributions to provide coordinated and customized training.  To learn more about how you can help, download an overview of the Academy for law firms and others that want to get involved.

For legal aid attorneys that are interested in attending an Academy training session, download an overview for legal aid attorneys or visit the calendar on www.IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org to identify upcoming training sessions. 


For more information, or to get involved with the Academy, please contact Kelly Tautges, the CBF’s Director of Pro Bono, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 312-554-8356.