Theodore Roosevelt said, “no man is above the law, and no man is below it.”
Yet, the economic reality for those who cannot afford legal services—to start a business, to obtain a fair hearing of their claims or to protect their constitutional rights—is that they do not participate in the economic liberty and justice our system of laws is designed to provide. The goal of our pro bono work is to bring economic liberty and justice to those who otherwise would not have access to it. In doing this profoundly important work, we not only “comfort the disquieted and disquiet the comfortable,” in the words of Hon. Abner Mikva, we believe that we also strengthen society and bring deeper meaning to our practice.
We direct our pro bono work toward programs that achieve our overall pro bono objectives and provide meaningful legal experience for our attorneys. Associates initiated many of the pro bono programs the firm now embraces. The firm treats pro bono work the same as client billable work in evaluating productivity and establishing annual compensation for our associates. Moreover, the firm is a signatory to the Public Interest Law Initiative’s (PILI) Statement of Principles, under which we have committed to achieving 35 hours of pro bono service per attorney per year to provide better access to justice for those in need.
The primary pro bono projects in which the firm’s attorneys are actively involved include the following:
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS)
St. Procopius Legal Clinic: For more than a decade, our attorneys have staffed the Pilsen neighborhood legal clinic at St. Procopius Church. Once a month, we provide advice and referrals in a number of areas, primarily employment law, landlord-tenant law, uncontested divorces and guardianship cases to qualified low-income persons from the Pilsen neighborhood. Work at St. Procopius permits our lawyers to provide meaningful service to the largely Hispanic Pilsen neighborhood, while supporting one of the premier legal services organizations in the country, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.
Center For Disability And Elder Law
The Center For Disability And Elder Law is a non-profit organization designed to provide free legal services to the elderly and physically and mentally challenged. Since 1993, the firm has worked with the Center to handle uncontested guardianship cases. We accept cases from the Center in which we typically represent a social worker or family member of the allegedly disabled person during guardianship proceedings. Our work in this program is limited to guardianship of the “person only,” in that we do not deal with guardianship over the estate of disabled persons. Our work in this program permits caring and qualified adults to make needed decisions concerning medical care and treatment on behalf of incapacitated older adults. We also handle cases on behalf of the CDEL Eamon Shannon Program representing children and their families in special education cases.
National Immigrant Justice Center (formerly Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center)
Our attorneys work with the Center to provide immigration assistance, deportation defense and political asylum representation to low-income immigrants fleeing persecution from over 90 countries. The program provides attorneys with the opportunity to make a difference in the life of an individual who is fleeing persecution, torture or even death. More than 25 attorneys at the firm have assisted more than 30 clients seeking political asylum. Cases include a woman seeking asylum from political persecution in Rwanda; a Hutu human rights activist seeking asylum from persecution in Burundi; and the son of a human rights activist seeking asylum from guerrilla threats in Colombia.
The Chicago Lighthouse Legal Clinic
Since its founding 100 years ago, The Chicago Lighthouse has a tradition of providing innovative services to people who are blind or visually impaired in order to help them live more independently.
In response to the growing legal needs of persons with visual impairments, the former chairman of The Lighthouse board and a Lord, Bissell & Brook attorney had the idea of establishing a legal clinic at The Lighthouse. As a result, in 2005, the Arthur and Esther Kane Legal Clinic was officially launched under the leadership of retired Circuit Court of Cook County Judge Nicholas Pomaro, who is himself blind. A few months later, Lord, Bissell & Brook offered to provide legal services on a pro bono basis to clients of the clinic. The firm accepted its first matter, a tax issue, and expects to handle a broad variety of litigation and corporate matters for the Lighthouse.
The firm is also proud to be a Diamond Sponsor of the Lighthouse Centennial Ball taking place at Navy Pier on April 29, 2006.
International Trade Education Programs (ITEP)
Our attorneys guided ITEP through its development into a major 501(c)(3) not-for profit corporation which utilizes the Maritime and International Trade Industries’ financial and professional support to both educate and open the door to these industries to disadvantaged high school students on a state wide basis. They led the way in securing major grants from the Port of Los Angeles to support ITEP’s Maritime, International Trade, Global Safety and Security and Environmental Academies in the United States’ largest port complex. The grant is intended as seed money to take the program linking high school students with industry from the Port of Los Angeles to a statewide level. ITEP academies allows disadvantaged students to work within one of those industries and “shadow” employees in these industries as part of their learning process.
Coordinated Advice & Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS)
Our attorneys participate in the volunteer program for CARPLS, an organization founded in 1993 in response to the Illinois Legal Needs Study (1989) that found that 80 percent of the legal needs of the poor in Illinois went unmet. CARPLS provides callers with immediate access to attorneys who collect information from clients in order to find appropriate resolutions and refer them to the program most suited to their legal needs, geographic areas and income levels.
Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI)
PILI is a non-profit organization that provides direct pro bono legal assistance and also facilitates coordinated efforts among public interest organizations and volunteers from in-house and private practice counsel. Our attorneys have participated in the PILI graduate fellowship program, on the Board of Directors and participate on the Transactional Working Group, which provides legal and business clinics to low-income businesses and entrepreneurs.
Circuit Court of Cook County Juvenile Division Children’s Pro Bono Project
Working with experienced Juvenile Court trial attorneys from the Northwestern University Law School Bluhm Legal Clinic, our attorneys participate in a court-sponsored pro bono program through which we represent juveniles charged with misdemeanors and felonies. Our work in this program gives us an opportunity to provide basic mentoring to at-risk juveniles and to protect their constitutional rights.
Saturday Morning Lawyers Program
For many years, the firm has participated in the Saturday Morning Lawyers Program, a collaborative effort between the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF) and the Atlanta Legal Aid Society (ALAS). Volunteer attorneys meet with two to four eligible clients on Saturday mornings and represent them in legal matters including wrongful eviction, name changes, faulty automobile repair charges and landlord-tenant law.
Georgia Lawyers for the Arts (GLA)
A nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance and educational programming to thousands of artists and arts organizations in Georgia annually, GLA provides legal assistance to musicians, songwriters, photographers, filmmakers, painters, poets, graphic designers, actors, theatre companies, dance troupes, museums and artists from many other disciplines. Our attorneys volunteer at GLA’s legal clinics where artists and arts organizations come to discuss various arts-related legal questions and work with GLA to provide free or low-cost mediation and arbitration services.
Uhlich Children’s Advantage Network (UCAN)
The firm has partnered with UCAN, an Illinois child welfare organization that provides services through a network of community-based initiatives. Our attorneys provide legal services on both litigation and transactional matters in an effort to support UCAN’s mission of preserving the sanctity of childhood and giving youth refuge and a future.
Truancy Intervention Program
The Truancy Intervention Program is a partnership involving the Atlanta Bar Association, Georgia Bar Association, Fulton County Juvenile Court and Kids In Need Of Dreams. The program provides early, positive intervention to interrupt the cycle of truancy and school failure in children ages 5 to 15. Our attorneys volunteer their services, attempting to solve clients’ needs so they may return to school, including providing access to clothing, water, heat, drug or psychiatric treatment and tutoring.
Lord, Bissell & Brook also works with the Legal Assistance Foundation, Domestic Violence Program, Chicago Public School Expulsion Project, Court Assigned Special Advocate (CASA), Community and Economic Development Law Project and the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.
Recognition & Awards
Our firm and its attorneys have received various awards for pro bono service including the Chicago Legal Clinic’s Charles J. O’Laughlin Memorial Award (2005); Chicago Bar Association Foundation’s Edward J. Lewis Award for outstanding pro bono service (2004); recognition from the Northwestern University Law School’s Children and Family Justice Center (2004); the PILI Pro Bono Initiative Honor Roll (2003 and 2004); and the CARPLS Golden Gavel Award (2000).
In addition to our pro bono legal work, our attorneys devote countless hours to the community every year through everything from service and community government to coaching Little League and taking an active role in local civic, political, charitable and religious organizations, all of which the firm encourages.