This program is available at no cost for the first 26 registrants who agree to take a pro bono case in the next year. Thank you to our sponsors for making this opportunity possible! 

     ♦  Illinois Bar Foundation
     ♦  Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI)
     ♦  Law Crawford P.C.

Learn how to identify internal barriers (within yourself and your law firm) that hinder communication with non-English speaking clients and how to overcome these barriers with this short online seminar on October 11, 2017. Attorneys with all levels of practice experience who work with a diverse client base who attend this seminar will better understand: what the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts is doing to help non-English speaking people gain better access to interpreters; the statewide Interpreter Registry; the pitfalls to avoid when working with interpreters; how and why you should take advantage of the pro bono opportunities in your community; and the resources available to attorneys willing to volunteer.

The seminar is presented by the ISBA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. It qualifies for 1.50 hours MCLE credit, including 1.50 hours Professionalism, Civility or Legal Ethics Professional Responsibility MCLE (subject to approval).

By Teri Ross, Program Director / Attorney, Illinois Legal Aid Online

Every year, tens of thousands of people in Illinois are forced to resolve their legal issues unassisted. On the one hand, they are unable to afford private legal counsel; on the other hand, they are unable to get help from the overburdened, underfunded legal aid system.

By Hon. Barbara Crowder, Judge, Third Judicial Circuit

When the Illinois Supreme Court Rule 756(f) was first amended to require lawyers to report any pro bono services intentionally provided and voluntary monetary donations to legal service providers, one would have thought it was a menacing Robert DeNiro asking for the information based upon the hue and cry raised by some attorneys. Lawyers were reminded that the primary goal was to address the unmet legal needs of those residents with limited income. Reporting pro bono hours is viewed as a way to increase the delivery of legal services provided directly to persons of limited means. Although the rule also asks about efforts that assist local communities and organizations along with time spent training others and any monetary contributions, the goal of the mandatory reporting requirement was proclaimed as a way to help lawyers remember to do pro bono directly. The comments suggest that those who are prohibited from providing direct services should donate money and their time to help train volunteer attorneys. Since the ARDC has issued the Annual Report of 2015, it seems an appropriate time to see how the lawyers of Illinois are doing.

National Celebration of Pro Bono is October 26-30, 2015

By Michael G. Bergmann, ISBA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, Executive Director of the Public Interest Law Initiative 

Coordinated by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, Pro Bono Week is intended to inspire even greater pro bono participation by lawyers throughout the nation. This initiative provides an opportunity for legal organizations across the country to collaboratively commemorate the vitally important contributions of America's lawyers and to recruit and train the many additional volunteers required to meet the growing demand. The Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service undertook this initiative to provide a format for showcasing the incredible difference that pro bono lawyers make to our nation, to our system of justice, to our communities and, most of all, to the clients they serve.