When the 14th Annual Investing in Justice Campaign kicked off in early March, the world was a different place. The coronavirus pandemic has turned our entire world upside down, and many thousands of people who have had their lives upended are going to struggle to find the legal help they need in our already overburdened pro bono and legal aid system.

Sean M. Berkowitz
Chair, 2020 Investing in Justice Campaign
Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP

If there were ever a time for us to ask the question “if not us, who?” that time is now. More than ever, we really need to step up for our community’s pro bono and legal aid organizations and the people who depend on them. This is our responsibility as lawyers and legal professionals, and our leadership and generous support is going to be particularly critical.

The Investing in Justice Campaign is the CBF’s annual initiative that rallies Chicago’s entire legal community around our common cause of ensuring that everyone has access to necessary legal help, not just people who can afford it. Thousands of individual lawyers and legal professionals at more than 150 Chicago-area law firms, corporate legal departments, companies, and other law-related organizations participate in the Campaign.

100% of individual contributions to the Campaign directly support the work of more than 30 pro bono and legal aid organizations and related initiatives, enabling them to provide critical legal assistance to tens of thousands of people in need.

Contributions help:

• Strengthen Chicago’s pro bono and legal aid organizations
• Enable dedicated lawyers to pursue and remain in careers in legal aid
• Maximize opportunities for pro bono lawyers to effectively supplement the work of their legal aid counterparts
• Make the courts more user-friendly and accessible for people in need

Justice People Deserve Not Just What They Can Afford

The Investing in Justice Campaign is the largest campaign of its kind anywhere in the country. Since its inception in 2007, the Campaign has raised more than $17.5 million, which has leveraged millions more in additional funding through the CBF’s Campaign grant process.

Those receiving services made possible by the Campaign include the elderly, disabled individuals, veterans, children, domestic violence victims, people at risk of losing their homes, immigrants fleeing persecution and abuse, and many other low-income and disadvantaged people in the Chicago area in need of legal assistance.

Thanks to the  ongoing success of the Campaign, tens of thousands of low-income and disadvantaged people in our community are able to get necessary legal assistance each year, and the justice system continues to be better and fairer for everyone.