Our Blog

November 29, 2021

samira nazemThank You Samira and Congrats Cortney!

October brought the bittersweet news that our Associate Director of Advocacy & Programs, Samira Nazem, would be leaving us at the end of the month to become a Principal Court Management Consultant with the National Center on State Courts (NCSC). Samira will be joining another esteemed CBF staff alum, Danielle Hirsch, at the NCSC.

Since joining […]

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November 29, 2021

Access to Justice—What Art Thou?

By Bob Glaves | CBF Executive Director

Access to Justice is one of our most essential American values. As lawyers and judges, we are the trustees of ensuring everyone has it. And we are all are seeking it. But what is it, really?

I wrote about this a few years ago and reopened the door to the […]

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November 23, 2021

court buildingNew Report Shows Strong Public Support for Remote Court Hearings

A new report from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) finds strong public support for courts to continue conducting hearings remotely. Many survey participants expressed support for remote access because it makes it easier for them to participate in court matters by eliminating barriers to making it to the courthouse itself. Specifically, large numbers […]

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October 20, 2021

Welcome, August!

The CBF is excited to welcome our new Manager of Advocacy & Programs, August Hieber, who started with the CBF this month. August is responsible for supporting the CBF’s court advocacy, legislative advocacy, and pro bono programs.

August comes to the CBF after completing an Equal Justice Works fellowship at CDEL where they designed Proud to […]

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October 20, 2021

Robert Deignan (1938-2021)

The CBF mourns the passing of Bob Deignan, a tremendous lawyer and exemplary leader on pro bono and access to justice efforts throughout his 53-year career as a lawyer.

A longtime partner at Baker & McKenzie, Bob had a storied legal career and an active life outside of the law. He received many accolades over the […]

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October 20, 2021

jep logoCongratulations to the Newest JEP Graduates!

The CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project celebrated the graduation of the May 2020 cohort, the 15th cohort of participants to successfully complete the 18-month program. The graduates include Ashley Rodriguez, Seth McCormick, and Kimber Russell. All three have built socially conscious law firms and innovative businesses that strive to offer valuable, cost-effective legal services and products […]

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October 14, 2021

We’re Hiring!

The CBF seeks a Director of Finance & Operations to join our team.

The Director of Finance & Operations of The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF) is responsible for the day-to-day management of the CBF’s finance, database and record keeping systems, other administrative duties, ensuring that the CBF runs smoothly and assisting with the CBF’s fundraising and […]

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October 8, 2021

New CBF Associate Director for Advocacy & Programs Opportunity

Do you know someone looking for an opportunity to help take the CBF and access to justice to the next level? The CBF is in the market for a new Associate Director for Advocacy & Programs. The Associate Director plays a leadership role in the CBF’s efforts to develop and manage court based programs, promote […]

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October 8, 2021

A Pro Bono Magical Musical Mystery Tour

By Bob Glaves | CBF Executive Director

If you have been to the CBA and CBF Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon in recent years, you know that we start with a song to help set a theme for that year’s event. To my knowledge, none were written with our legal profession in mind, but […]

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September 27, 2021

Banned Words for Access to Justice 2.0

By Bob Glaves | CBF Executive Director

Those of us who care about access to justice use a lot of terms that do our cause no favors. These are words and phrases that either don’t mean anything to our target audience, don’t necessarily mean what we think, or inadvertently just turn people off.

A few years ago, […]

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