News Tag: CBA Record

March 17, 2014

The 2014 Investing in Justice Campaign

CBF Report February/March 2014

Justice People Deserve, Not Just What They Can Afford

The 8th annual CBF Investing in Justice Campaign kicks off this month, and once again thousands of individual attorneys and legal professionals from throughout the legal community are coming together around our common cause as a profession: taking a lead role to ensure that everyone has access to justice, not just people who can afford to pay for necessary legal help. Over the past seven years, the Campaign has grown from the ambitious vision of a few dedicated individuals to a broad-based effort that has now raised a total of more than $8.5 million for the cause. Last year, more than 4,000 individuals at 137 participating firms, companies and organizations (including the CBA) made it possible for tens of thousands of people to obtain vital legal assistance that is often critical to their safety and independence. While we should take pride in the Campaign’s past success, the need in our community is still great, and we have proven that through the Campaign we can make a big impact in meeting this need.

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January 24, 2014

The Year in Pictures

CBF Report January 2014

The Chicago Bar Foundation in 2013

Last year, we set some ambitious goals at the CBF. Big projects, more grant funding, new solutions. We set our sights high because it’s all about reaching reaching beyond past successes, reaching to solve problems in a new way, reaching more people that need help. That wouldn’t get us very far though without a strong base of leadership and support behind our efforts. It’s because of your support of the CBF and the larger cause of equal access to justice that we’ve been able to achieve these ambitious goals over the last year.

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November 21, 2013

Hatching an Incubator

CBF Report October 2013

CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project Will Launch Start-up Solo and Small Firms to Expand Access to Affordable Legal Help

Earlier this month the Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP) officially opened its doors in the West Loop, creating a program where at any given time 30 socially conscious and sustainable solo and small firm law practices will have the opportunity to grow and thrive.With this new collaborative office space, the CBF officially launches its incubator to help newer graduates develop practices that will serve a sizeable gap in our legal market€“clients who earn too much to qualify for free legal aid but not enough to pay traditional lawyer rates. The inaugural group of 10 talented, entrepreneurial newer lawyers started in June and is nearing the end of the first segment of an 18-month program, having collectively contributed nearly 5,000 hours of pro bono service. Already, they are forging connections with one another and the larger legal community while developing and expanding innovative law practices designed to meet real community needs.

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October 17, 2013

A Win-Win for the Legal Community and Access to Justice

CBF Report October 2013

Planting the Seeds for Pro Bono Partnerships and Collaborations

When it comes to pro bono, lawyers in the Chicago area have good reason to be proud of the many talented and creative pro bono advocates at legal aid organizations and law firms, exemplary judicial and bar leadership, and the active participation and support from thousands of attorneys in our legal community.Working together with these partners to ensure that pro bono service most effectively meets community needs is one of the key ways that the CBF is helping to make the justice system more fair and accessible for people in need. As a core part of the CBF’s overall mission to bring the legal community together to improve access to justice, the CBF’s pro bono program works to ensure that attorneys can easily find and connect with pro bono opportunities, promotes best practices and incubates and provides key funding for innovative new pro bono programs.

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