CARPLS Legal Aid is looking for volunteer attorneys to counsel clients on Cook County's legal aid telephone hotline. You must preregister for this training via email to lwallin@carpls.org. Walk-ins will not be accepted. CARPLS is an innovative legal aid service that offers an immediate response to the every-day legal problems confronting low-income families in Cook County. CARPLS' legal aid hotline and court-based advice desks give low-income clients direct access to experienced attorneys who are trained to quickly assess and respond to a wide range of civil legal problems. CARPLS attorneys resolve over 85% of all cases in-house by providing information, advice and brief services including the preparation and review of legal documents. Clients with more complex needs are referred by CARPLS to a network of specialized legal and social service providers. CARPLS' unique "legal triage" system serves as a model for legal aid communities across the country and has increased access to justice by dramatically reducing the cost of legal aid services to the poor. Our volunteers give advice in the limited practice areas of family, consumer debt and landlord/tenant matters. Volunteers provide legal advice, draft and distribute self-help materials, and make referrals to legal service providers for representation. CARPLS volunteers, once trained, can participate in our Nightline program (evening volunteering Wednesday evenings from 6:00 - 8:00); or CARPLS Works (daytime volunteering Monday through Friday from 9:00 - 1:00 or 1:00 - 5:00). All volunteers go through a common training program and are qualified to work in any program. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED: If you would like to answer the call to help Cook County's low income residents, please send an e-mail and resume to lwallin@carpls.org, or call Leslie Wallin at (312) 421-4427. UPCOMING TRAINING: Our January training cycle starts with substantive law training Wednesday, January 20, from 4:00 - 8:30 at 17 N. State Street, Suite 1850, Chicago. Systems trainings are either Tuesday, January 26, from 10:00 - 2:30; Wednesday, January 27, from 6:00 - 8:30; or Thursday, January 28, from 2:00 - 4:30. Live call trainings will be in 2-hour shifts the weeks of February 1, 8, and 16. You must complete all three parts of the training in this time frame in order to volunteer. If you cannot commit to this schedule, we offer trainings six times per year and would be happy to work with you to find a training that works better for your schedule.