News Tag: Pro Bono

September 29, 2022

Pro Bono Week 2022 is Just a Few Weeks Away!

Pro Bono in CommunitiesMonday, October 24 at 12:00 p.m.

Hear from the Center for Disability & Elder Law, the Legal AidSociety Communities Partnering 4 Peace Program, the ChicagoBar Association’s Lawyers in the Classroom program, andthe Chicago Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section abouthow you can give back in your communities. The panelistswill share the impactful work their […]

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August 22, 2022

Pro Bono and Public Service Heroes Take Center Stage

From left to right: Timothy Tomasik, CBA Board President; Shelisa Thomas, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Patrick Yingling, Reed Smith LLP; Dean Jennifer Rosato Perea, DePaul University College of Law; Chantal Kazay, Discover Financial Services; Pat Wrona, CARPLS; Nicole Smith, Cabrini Green Legal Aid; Hon. Catherine Schneider, Circuit Court of Cook County; Gregory […]

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May 26, 2022

Nominations for the 2022 CBA/CBF Pro Bono & Public Service Awards are Now Open

Do you know an unsung lawyer or judge who is dedicated to using their talents and resources to improve access to justice in our community?  We are very fortunate to have many who fit that bill in Chicago’s legal community, and the annual CBA/CBF Pro Bono & Public Service Awards are designed to highlight their […]

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April 18, 2022

Investing in Justice: Giving People the Peace of Mind They Deserve

Teresa, an older adult from Chicago’s Southwest side, initially came to the Center for Disability & Elder Law (CDEL) seeking assistance in obtaining guardianship of her adult son with autism. However, as she started the process with CDEL, she learned of the many other services she needed that the organization could provide her.

After successfully navigating […]

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February 9, 2022

You are Invited to the 28th Annual Pro Bono Fair on February 24!

The 28th Annual Pro Bono and Community Service Fair is just around the corner! This free, in-person event will be held on Thursday, February 24, 2022 from 5pm to 7pm and will generously be hosted by Kirkland & Ellis at 300 N. LaSalle in Chicago.  The Fair is cosponsored by the CBA Young Lawyers Section and the […]

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October 8, 2021

A Pro Bono Magical Musical Mystery Tour

By Bob Glaves | CBF Executive Director

If you have been to the CBA and CBF Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon in recent years, you know that we start with a song to help set a theme for that year’s event. To my knowledge, none were written with our legal profession in mind, but […]

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August 25, 2021

Redeeming Justice: An Interview with Jarrett Adams about His New Book and An Inspiring Message for Our Legal Community

I first met Jarrett Jarrett Adams in 2012, when he applied for and received the CBF Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Public Interest Law Scholarship. But the traumatic and unsettling experience that drove him to pursue a legal career and do the amazing work he is doing today started much earlier.

Now a successful lawyer focused on helping others who have been wrongfully convicted, he has written a book coming out on September 14 about his experience. Redeeming Justice is a stirring memoir that appropriately features this teaser on the cover: “From Defendant to Defender, My Fight for Equity on Both Sides of a Broken System.”

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July 29, 2021

I Can See Clearly Now

By Bob Glaves | CBF Executive Director

That Johnny Nash classic set the theme for this year’s CBA/CBF Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon, underscoring the widespread feeling of optimism coming out of the pandemic and being able to gather again in person to honor some unsung heroes of our profession.

We all could see clearly […]

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November 2, 2020

story slam 2020 screenshotAn Extraordinary Pro Bono Week

Like most gatherings in these times, last week the CBA/CBF’s 16th Annual Pro Bono Week went virtual for the first time. That didn’t stop hundreds of lawyers and other legal professionals in Chicago from participating in one of the many fan favorite events to celebrate the inspiring pro bono work in our community and to […]

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October 21, 2020

Does it Really Matter?

News Flash: Pro bono is not the complete solution to the huge gap in access to justice. That is actually not news to anyone involved in this work, but it seems a lot more people of late have been highlighting what pro bono can’t do as they make their case for other solutions, often implying in the process that pro bono is less important or less worthy of our resources and attention.

Well, that is just plain wrong. Just because pro bono is not the solution on its own does not mean it is not an integral part of the larger quest to fulfill our nation’s ideal of a fair and accessible justice system for all. Pro bono in fact has a big role to play, and it matters in many other ways as well.

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