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Just Because We Can Doesn’t Mean We Should, and Just Because We Should Can Never Again Mean We Can’t
Virtual Passport to Chicago Turns Up the Heat
Legal Aid Needs Law Firm Support Now More Than Ever
JEP Welcomes New Cohort of Socially-Conscious Attorneys
Illinois Legal Aid Online
November 19, 2018
Life Fellows Laid Foundation for the CBF
As we continue to celebrate the CBF’s 70th Anniversary this year, we take pride in the fact that the CBF has long been a powerful force for good thanks to the strong support of Chicago’s legal community. That never would have happened, however, without the leadership and generous support of a number of dedicated individuals […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | CBF Supporters read more ...November 16, 2018
The Legal Aid Hall of Fame
To wrap up his term as CBF President, Tom Morsch had an inspiring vision. A leader in Chicago’s legal community and a pro bono pioneer, Tom always felt that lawyers in private practice received a disproportionate amount of recognition for their pro bono contributions in comparison to the lawyers who have dedicated their careers to public interest law at often great financial sacrifice. Motivated to create meaningful public recognition for these unsung heroes, he and his family worked with the CBF to establish the CBF Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award.
Tags: Awards | CBF 70th Anniversary | Legal Aid Attorneys | Morsch Award | Pro Bono & Public Service Awards Luncheon read more ...November 15, 2018
New Illinois Judicial Conference Will Look to the Future of Illinois Courts
CBF Executive Director Bob Glaves and CBF Board Member Justice Mary K. Rochford are among the Illinois Supreme Court’s appointees to the newly constituted Illinois Judicial Conference. Glaves and Rochford are among 29 members (15 judges and 14 non-judges), with Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier serving as Chair, who will be tasked with creating and implementing […]
Tags: Courts read more ...November 15, 2018
New and Graduating JEP Attorneys Ready for New Growth
Last week, the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP) celebrated the graduation of the ninth cohort of participants to successfully complete the 18-month program and welcomed in the twelfth group of attorneys aiming to build innovative and affordable law practices.
Attorneys graduating from the JEP. Good luck!
Graduates Daniel Hernandez and TJ Walczak work on family […]
Tags: JEP read more ...November 15, 2018
Access to Justice: How We Will Know When We Get There
When I recently took a stab at defining what we mean when we say access to justice, I looked to the great Yogi Berra for inspiration: If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get there.
Now that we have established a working definition of where we are going (at least I have!), the question becomes how do we measure our progress to that promised land.
Tags: Legal Aid read more ...November 12, 2018
We Felt Like We Were Drowning in a Sea of Goodwill
As recently as just a few years ago, that was a common refrain heard among Illinois veterans facing legal issues. While our veterans and military personnel generally knew there were a lot of lawyers and others who wanted to help them, there was no easy way to make those connections.
At the same time, there was […]
Tags: Advocacy | CBF 70th Anniversary | Veterans read more ...November 8, 2018
Looking at the Court System through the Eyes of the People
To the say that the legal system looks daunting to someone who is not trained in the law and is often facing a serious legal issue when they arrive at the courthouse would be a vast understatement. And that is even more true at the Daley Center, perhaps the largest and busiest single courthouse in […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | Courts | Pro Se | Resources read more ...November 5, 2018
Pricing for Access to Justice
The billable hour is dead! You’ve likely seen this headline a time or two over the past couple of years, and for good reason. As CBF Executive Director Bob Glaves pointed out in his 2016 blog post on pricing, we’ve largely priced the proverbial regular guy, and even ourselves sometimes, out of the market for […]
Tags: Billable hour | CBF 70th Anniversary | Future of the Profession | JEP | Resources read more ...November 2, 2018
Pro Bono Week 2018 Celebrating the Power of Pro Bono
Hundreds of lawyers and other legal professionals in Chicago came together last week through the CBA and CBF’s 14th Annual Pro Bono Week to celebrate the important pro bono work being done in our community. But the Week’s focus goes far beyond just celebrating past deeds of pro bono greatness. It’s also about looking ahead, envisioning a brighter pro bono future, and finding new opportunities to make an impact through pro bono in the year ahead. And whether you were able to participate in one of the events or not, there is a lot you can do to make your own pro bono impact and the CBF is here to help you do that.
Tags: Events | Pro Bono | Pro Bono Week | Success! | Training | Volunteer read more ...November 2, 2018
Alone We Can Do So Little, Together We Can Do So Much
If we had to identify one thing that has made the CBF a powerful force for good over our first 70 years, that famous quote in the title from Helen Keller sums it up well.
The concept of partnerships is part of the CBF’s DNA. The CBF’s very existence owes to our legal community coming together […]
Tags: CBF 70th Anniversary | CBF Supporters | Partner Organizations read more ...