Justice Entrepreneurs Project
Empowering socially conscious lawyers to serve the needs of everyday people.
The CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP) is an incubator that supports lawyers in building sustainable, socially conscious law practices designed to serve the underserved middle market—people who don’t qualify for free legal aid but can’t afford traditional legal rates. Through training, mentorship, and a collaborative community, the JEP helps attorneys develop innovative, client-centered models that make quality legal services more accessible and affordable.
Program Overview
Recognizing that 50% of our community makes too much to qualify for legal aid but are priced out of traditional legal services, the Justice Entrepreneurs Project was created to serve everyday people and small businesses while empowering attorneys to start their own socially conscious law firms.
Borrowing principles from successful incubators in the business and technology fields and with the help of a strong network of partners, the JEP provides training, mentoring, and other resources and support in a collaborative office setting to help participating lawyers establish sustainable law practices that provide affordable services to middle-income people and small businesses. Core tenets of the JEP’s robust program include setting predictable prices rather than using the traditional billable hour, offering unbundled and flexible services, and leveraging technology to create efficiencies.
The CBF originally developed and launched the JEP—and continues to provide core funding and a variety of other support—by bringing Chicago’s legal community together to support and collaborate in the program.
Apply To The JEP
Are you a lawyer interested in obtaining the skills and resources necessary to build an innovative and successful law practice targeting the middle market? Are you interested in making a positive impact on your community as a social entrepreneur? Do you value autonomy and wellbeing? If yes, then the JEP might be a good fit for you.
We’re recruiting our 23rd cohort of lawyers to join the JEP. Applications will open on September 28, 2026, and are due October 30, 2026.
To learn more about the application process and if the program is a good fit for you, click the “Apply Now” button below.
Program Partners
The JEP program would not be possible without the dedicated and diverse network of partners from throughout the legal, technology, business and philanthropic communities who are providing key pro bono and in-kind support. What sets JEP lawyers apart, what gives them an edge as they expand access to justice, are the resources available through the JEP and the CBF. Interested in partnering with the JEP? Contact Merci Sugai at msugai@chicagobarfoundation.org.
Questions? For more information on the JEP, contact Merci Sugai at msugai@chicagobarfoundation.org.