Our Blog

March 20, 2020

Through This Together, Stronger on the Other Side

As we all continue to adapt to our worlds being turned upside down in the span of less than two weeks, our legal community’s leadership on access to justice will be more important than ever in this time of heightened need. And the CBF already is stepping up our efforts to bring our community together around this common cause to tackle the many emerging challenges and opportunities this crisis is generating.

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March 19, 2020

Make Law Better by Looking Outside of Law—A Tax and Accounting Tutorial

When I started down the road on my 2020 Resolution for the Legal Profession to look at how we can learn from our counterparts in other professions and industries to make law better, it never occurred to me that we’d be facing a situation like the one brought on in recent weeks by the coronavirus. But as our legal community and justice system continue to respond in earnest to the challenges and disruption caused by this crisis, the importance of this undertaking has become even clearer. And the next stop on this journey—the tax and accounting profession and related businesses—offers some particularly useful lessons for our present and future times in law on the key issues of remote services and remote access.

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March 18, 2020

CBA/CBF Task Force Making Good Progress

Late last month, the full CBA/CBF Task Force on the Sustainable Practice of Law & Innovation reconvened for the first time since the Task Force launched in October 2019. The group came together this time to learn from the efforts of our Canadian colleagues, to hear updates from all five committees, and to discuss and […]

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March 17, 2020

Thank you Trevor, and Welcome Samoane!

It’s been a bittersweet month at the CBF. After four and a half years as Director of the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project, Trevor Clarke has left the CBF to become a full-time Executive Director at Working Bikes, a non-profit organization that gives donated bicycles new life by redistributing them as tools of empowerment in local […]

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March 13, 2020

Investing in Justice: More Important Than Ever

A message from Sean Berkowitz, 2020 Investing in Justice Campaign Chair

As the second week of the Investing in Justice Campaign winds down, we are inspired by the early results. We know that many firms plan to start next week or later this month, and with that in mind we wanted to provide an update and reminder on Campaign resources as things quickly change around us due to the coronavirus.

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February 14, 2020

JusticeCorps Fellows an Impressive Group

Over ten years ago, the CBF pioneered Illinois JusticeCorps, an innovative program through which courthouse volunteers create a more welcoming and less intimidating environment for people without lawyers. Illinois JusticeCorps volunteers do this by providing navigational assistance, referrals to legal aid and other available services, connections to online resources and court forms, and legal information […]

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February 13, 2020

Make Law Better by Looking Outside of Law—A Medical and Dental Examination

A trip to the doctor or dentist is not something most of us look forward to. But there is much we in law can learn from the evolution of those professions, and that is the next stop in my 2020 Resolution for the Legal Profession journey.

While there is still room for further progress, three ways these professions have improved access include: a continuum of care options with many different entry points, a range of professionals who assist and are known by who they are rather than being called “non-doctors” or “non-dentists,” and a variety of business models for their practices to best meet the needs of both the professionals and their patients.

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February 11, 2020

JEPY Awards Celebrate Innovation

Stars of the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project, friends, supporters and community partners gathered February 10th at Lagunitas Taproom & Brewery to celebrate innovative practices, expanded access to legal services, and lawyering with panache. The 4th Annual JEPY Awards, created by former JEP Director Trevor Clarke, honored the great work JEP attorneys are doing, recognizing attorneys […]

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January 29, 2020

JEP Accepting Applications for Participants

The CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project is seeking entrepreneurial and public interest-minded applicants for its next class of participants who will begin the program in May 2020.

The JEP prepares talented and entrepreneurial lawyers in the Chicago area to build innovative, socially conscious, and sustainable law practices serving low and moderate-income clients. We believe in the power of […]

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January 23, 2020

Governor Pritzker, Chief Justice Burke and Other Leaders Help Inaugurate CBA/CBF Rock Cullerton Access to Justice Award

All three branches of government came together at the Chicago Bar Association this week as Governor Pritzker, Chief Justice Burke, and new Senate President Don Harmon were among those who helped honor retiring Senate President John Cullerton and inaugurate the new CBA/CBF Rock Cullerton Access to Justice Award.