News Tag: Pro Bono

October 17, 2019

What if I told you…?

…there was a magic potion that will give you a happier, healthier and longer life. Who wouldn’t want that?

Well, it turns out that potion indeed does exist, and all of us who are lawyers and legal professionals can easily take advantage of it. And no magic is required. So, what is it?

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September 13, 2019

MEGservationsGood for Everyone: Pro Bono and Veggies Go Mainstream

By Margaret Benson | Executive Director, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services

Pro bono is like veganism. Although it’s good for you and benefits society, people have been skeptical. But now both practices are popular enough that even people who don’t do them claim they do.

It wasn’t always that way. Back in the stone ages of the legal profession, before email, business processes and data analytics, many law firms didn’t have much interest in providing direct legal services to low-income clients. While some handled pro bono law reform cases through organizations like the ACLU and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, most firms didn’t think their attorneys should handle direct legal services for poor people.

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September 11, 2019

Pro Bono Network

Want to do pro bono work and looking for training, support, backup, flexibility, camaraderie, and malpractice insurance? Then Pro Bono Network is for you! Come to the Pro Bono Network’s fall training sessions to learn how PBN can help you provide legal services to seniors, veterans, survivors of violence, people with disabilities, and families in […]

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January 28, 2019

Civil Rights Pro Bono Opportunities

Did you know that each month the CBF’s online pro bono guide features one spotlight opportunity? This month you can learn more about how you can help the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights combat housing discrimination in both a discreet clinic setting and through further representation in filing administrative complaints.

See More Civil Rights Opportunities […]

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December 21, 2018

Improving the Pro Bono Experience in Federal Court

Federal court may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of pro se litigants, but every year, hundreds of people without lawyers file cases in the Northern District of Illinois. The vast majority of those cases are filed by prisoners seeking relief from allegedly substandard conditions or poor treatment in […]

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December 6, 2018

Leading By Example

Law firms and corporations play an integral role in the CBF and the larger cause of equal access to justice in many ways. Before 2008, however, our community lacked the means to recognize those firms and companies who embody best practices in their leadership and comprehensive support for the cause.

Then, as now, firms and companies […]

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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.

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October 25, 2018

Pro Bono Connects JEPers to Practice Experience and Their Community

The CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project is in an open-plan, loft office space just west of the Loop. This is where program participants (JEPers) start their innovative, socially conscious law practices serving low and middle income Chicagoans. This is where they learn skills and techniques for doing law differently setting predictable prices, offering unbundled services, making […]

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October 18, 2018

Partner-Powered Training Helps JEP Lawyers Innovate

At the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP), we prepare talented and entrepreneurial lawyers in the Chicago area to launch and manage innovative, socially conscious, and successful law practices. One way we do this is through our comprehensive training program that focuses on building a new kind of practice one that is more accessible and affordable […]

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October 16, 2018

Stand by Someone Who Needs You, In a Way Only You Can

This year’s Pro Bono Week theme, Celebrating the Power of Pro Bono, invites us to think about what that power looks like in real life to someone who is facing a serious legal issue but unable to afford the legal help they need. As I often do, I am turning to music for my inspiration, echoing the choice of theme song for our Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon earlier this year.

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