Bar foundation ready to launch legal aid drive
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

 Even though the official start of the Chicago Bar Foundation's 2011 Investing in Justice campaign isn't until Monday, the annual effort to increase support for area providers of legal services to the poor is already seeing a record-breaking show of participation.   Read more. . .

CBF Report January 2011
Ensuring that the Court System is User-Friendly and Accessible to All

One of The Chicago Bar Foundation’s (CBF’s) priorities within its larger mission to ensure that all Chicagoans have access to justice is to ensure that the court system is userfriendly and accessible to all, particularly those without lawyers. Read more. . .

$125,000 given to legal aid for foreclosure help
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Four legal aid organizations that have focused much of their work on addressing the needs of a growing number of Cook County homeowners grappling with mortgage foreclosure issues have received grants totaling $125,000 toward that effort — thanks to a recent gift to the Chicago Bar Foundation.  Read more. . .

$125,000 Gift to Provide Significant Help for People Facing Foreclosure

Pierce and Associates, Codilis & Associates, Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund (ATG) and the Law Bulletin Publishing Company recently made donations to The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF) totaling $125,000 to support several pro bono and legal aid organizations that are working to help the growing number of people facing foreclosure in Cook County.  Read more. . .

Legal aid providers faced real challenges
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Anybody who has long been in the business of providing free legal services to the poor knows that even in the best of times, the demand for legal aid outstrips the supply.

"You have to keep in the back of your head, no matter how many people we have, we would never have enough people to serve all the people who need it," said Diana C. White, executive director of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, the largest provider of free civil legal services to poor and disadvantaged people in Cook County.  Read more. . .

With increased funding for legal aid services from most sources-particularly Chicago's legal community and area foundations- Cook County's pro bono and legal aid system has significantly increased its service capacity over the past seven years. However, this progress is tempered by the fact that pro bono and legal aid organizations in Cook County report skyrocketing demands for their help during this time period. Today, The Chicago Community Trust and The Chicago Bar Foundation released Legal Aid in Cook County: A Report on Basic Trends in Need, Service and Funding.   Read more...

CBF Report November 2010
Helping Dedicated Lawyers Pursue and Remain in Legal Aid Careers

One of The Chicago Bar Foundation’s (CBF’s) priorities within its larger mission to ensure that all Chicagoans have access to justice is to help dedicated lawyers pursue and remain in careers in legal aid and public service.   Read more. . .

CBA News November 2010
6th Annual CBA/CBF Pro Bono Week Attracts Record Participants

The Chicago Bar Association and The Chicago Bar Foundation cosponsored Chicago’s 6th Annual Pro Bono Week from October 25-29, 2010. This year’s theme was “Our Deeds Determine Us.” The theme urges lawyers to extend themselves by embracing volunteerism, especially efforts to make the law more just and the administration of justice more accessible.  Read more. . .

In The News
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Joseph Gietl, a first-year law student at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, has received the 2010 Chicago Bar Foundation's Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Public Interest Law Scholarship.

As the 2010 Marovitz Scholar, Gietl will receive $40,000 in financial assistance payable over his law school career, which will enable him to pursue a career in public interest law with a significant portion of his tuition and related expenses paid, the bar foundation said.   Read more. . .

In The News
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

The Chicago Bar Foundation has presented the 2010 CBF Sun-Times Public Interest Law Fellowship to five legal-aid attorneys.

The attorneys are Amany Sam Ezeldin of Life Span Center for Legal Services, which serves survivors of domestic violence; Mariangela F. Monteiro of Equip for Equality Inc., which provides legal assistance to and advocacy on behalf of disabled people; Melissa L. Staas of the Family Defense Center; Monica M. Torres-Linares of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago; and Katherine R. Zalewski of the Uptown People's Law Center.  Read more. . .

October 2010 - Pro Bono Week

Mediation Help in a Crisis
A Foreclosure Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, in a magical land, not so far away, struggling homeowners received special, free services from good-hearted, talented people who helped them save their castles.   Read more. . .

Pro Bono for Transactional Attorneys
Strengthening Nonprofits to Build Communities

Years ago when I graduated from law school, pro bono opportunities to represent individuals in court existed but there were no transactional pro bono opportunities.  Read more. . .

Pro Bono in the Lives of Local Artists
The Value of Giving Back

All Chicago jazz artist Fred Anderson wanted to do was to have a small club on the North Side of Chicago where he and his fellow musicians could play the music they loved for the community.  Read more. . .

Rule 6.5 of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct
Empowering Lawyers to Provide More Pro Bono

Many lawyers wish to provide pro bono assistance but, for any number of reasons, are only able to do so when they can be assured that the representation will entail a narrow, short-term engagement rather than an extended commitment.  Read more. . .

The Expedited Child Support Center
Solving Legal Issues Involving Children of Unmarried Parents

The Expedited Child Support Center is a wonderful place to be if you want to volunteer your problem solving services where they will do an immense amount of good, either as a child representative or a mediator.  Read more. . .