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Rapid Response Advisory Committee & Community Legal Response Fund

Building on successful recent legal community response efforts, The Chicago Bar Foundation Rapid Response Advisory Committee (RRAC) is designed to enhance the Chicago legal community’s communication and coordination response to crises and emerging legal issues impacting the Chicago area that require a large pro bono and/or legal aid effort.

Established in response to recommendations from community access to justice convening in May 2024, the RRAC is a small advisory group that includes members of Chicago legal aid organizations and pro bono counsel from Chicago law firms. Whether the causal force is a natural disaster, another tragic event, an economic crisis, a pandemic, an international crisis, or a major policy change, the focus is on responding to sudden and large-scale legal needs that require coordinated community response.

The RRAC is developing systems, including issue-specific cohorts, to increase efficiency and streamline the management of rapid legal responses. Goals include increased coordination, faster response times, avoiding duplication of efforts, and shifting some of the communication and organizational tasks from legal aid organizations to law firms partnering in pro bono efforts. The RRAC will work with designated cohorts to identify the critical issues and resource needs of emerging issues and future legal crises.

Community Response Legal Fund

As part of this legal community planning, the CBF has created a centralized fund that can support these rapid legal response efforts as they present themselves, with the RRAC serving as an advisory body. This Community Response Legal Fund is a separate CBF fund that individuals and firms can donate to support emerging funding needs as follows:

  • This is a single fund, not attached to any particular crisis or emerging issue, though a particular event will likely spur donations.
  • The CBF will solicit and accept donations to this fund as part of the larger legal community response to a particular emerging issue and utilize those funds for grants or contracts as part of the response to that particular issue, but this is a general fund that will be used to appropriately respond to emerging legal issues as they occur.
  • This fund is a discrete place for people to donate in response to crises and any contributions should be above and beyond all regular giving to either the CBF or our grantees, as we do not want to diminish resources for the programs and staff that rely on those existing donations.
  • The CBF will cover all administrative expenses associated with the fund so that 100% of donations to this fund go towards the community legal response.
  • Funds can be used to build capacity for pro bono response through grants and/or hiring of consultants and related expenses.
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Rapid Response Advisory Committee

Brenna DeVaney, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Ashley Huebner, Jones Day (Chair)

Kelly Huggins, Sidley Austin LLP

Lisa Koop, National Immigrant Justice Center

Maria Kutnick, Winston Taylor

Caryn Lederer, HSPRD

Teresa Sullivan, Legal Aid Chicago

Ben Weinberg, Dentons US LLP

For more information on the RRAC, please fill out an interest form here.