ISBA Spotlight on Pro Bono

By Susan LePeau DeCostanza, Staff Attorney, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services

Summer is a time when we may flex our work schedule a bit and take some time off to enjoy the weather with family and friends. Summer is also a great time to start thinking creatively about that pro bono or volunteer project you’ve been meaning to get started this year. With information about so many pro bono opportunities online and at our fingertips, volunteering has never been so easy!  

If you need some new or creative ways to volunteer, www.illinoisprobono.org is always a great place to start. One simple click on the “Volunteer” tab produces a host of options all over the great state of Illinois, one of which is sure to fit well with your particular skills, areas of expertise and complicated schedule. 

Give a Presentation. You have experience with mediation? Expertise in health insurance law? Pro bono organizations and not-for-profits are always looking for professionals that will volunteer to educate their clients, staff and community about issues that affect them. Among other organizations, Catholic Charities Legal Assistance works with volunteer attorneys who provide informational and educational seminars on topics of interest and concern to clients at various Catholic Charities locations. Sample topics include debtor/creditor issues, child custody, domestic violence and tenants' rights. The one-hour seminars are geared toward the lay person and deliver basic information. Reach out to your favorite not-for-profit or legal aid to see if you can lend your experience and winning personality to further their mission.

Volunteer to Clean Up After a Legal Aid Fund Raiser. This subsection might be retitled: A shameless plug for my own organization! Legal aid organizations provide thousands of hours of free legal services to clients that cannot otherwise afford legal representation. Legal Aid agencies work hard to stay financially sound in part by holding all those great fund raising galas and auctions that you have attended throughout your legal career. Frequently, Legal Aid organizations need help to make sure that boxes are delivered, tables are set up, venues are decorated and someone is around to clean up after a great party benefiting a good cause. Coincidentally, Race Judicata, an incredibly fun 5K event that supports the pro bono efforts of hundreds of volunteer attorneys is right around the corner! Chicago Volunteer Legal Services would love your help on the evening of September 10, to make sure that the race goes off without a hitch.

Borderless Pro Bono. Last month, Prairie State Legal Services, Inc. along with Illinois Legal Aid Online launched a new Borderless Pro Bono website. If you are looking for a meaningful way to volunteer your time from the comfort of your home or office, check out this opportunity to provide legal advice and brief services to unmarried parents with paternity, custody, visitation and child support issues. The legal support provided is not in-court or extended representation and benefits self-represented individuals in more than 36 counties across the state. Prairie State provides volunteer training and support and today is a great day to get started!

There are other ways to volunteer, even if you only have time to give in the evenings after your work day is done and your children are tucked in for the night. Illinois Legal Aid Online provides practical legal information for non-attorneys facing all sorts of legal problems. Low-income individuals may not have the resources to hire a private attorney, but you can ensure that they have access to accurate information about their legal issue by drafting or editing plain language articles and legal resources for Illinois Legal Aid Online websites.  As a Legal Content Volunteer, you can work from any location at any time as you take legal issues and processes and present them in a practical and understandable way. You can do the revolutionary work of helping low income individuals in Illinois empower themselves and address their legal problems!

It has never been easier to volunteer and the opportunities are more creative and exciting than ever. Why not wrap up your summer by doing some good and contributing to your community?