Chicago Bar Foundation

Provided significant grants and other key support to chicago's pro bono and legal aid organizations and related initiatives serving the chicago area. These grants enabled tens of thousands of chicagoans in need to get critical legal advice and assistance; strengthened chicago's pro bono and legal aid system; and supported a number of initiatives that helped make the justice system more user-friendly and accessible. The cbf made other grants to support a variety of access to justice and related philanthropic initiatives, including the cbf's pro bono and public service award grants and grants to projects that educate young people about their legal rights and responsibilities or promote legal or civic-related education.

Invested in the attorneys dedicating their careers to legal aid. The cbf made it possible for 12 attorneys and law students to pursue careers in legal aid through the cbf's anderson fellowship, the moses public interest scholarship, equal justice works fellowship program, and the cbf's sponsorship of pili law student internships. In addition, the cbf continued to administer the newly rebranded and expanded cbf patton legal aid training academy, an innovative pro bono program through which law firms, legal aid organizations, academic institutions, consultants and other professionals are collaborating to help meet the core training and professional development needs of our community's legal aid attorneys and staff.

Continued to host and support the cbf's justice entrepreneurs project (jep), an incubator and network of lawyers who are committed to making quality legal services accessible and affordable to people who cannot afford an attorney in the traditional legal market. The jep provides training, mentoring, and other resources and support to help participants establish sustainable law practices serving this market. Jep lawyers build practices that offer fixed fees and flexible representation options, maximize technology, and leverage traditionally untapped referral networks. In addition, the program identifies successful and replicable practice models, shares innovations, and helps encourage other similar programs across the u.s. And beyond.