Simply put, PILI seeks to instill a commitment to the public interest in every member of the legal profession, and then foster that commitment throughout every member’s legal career.  At PILI, we believe that you enter the legal profession the moment you enroll in law school.  And regardless of whether you ultimately choose to practice in a law firm, a corporation, a legal aid office, a unit of government, or in academia, you have role to play in serving the public interest.  

For law students, PILI offers a public interest law Internship program, and for new law school graduates, we offer a public interest law Fellowship program.  Together, these programs help to instill early in our community’s attorneys, that critical public interest law/pro bono ethic. To ensure that this public interest law ethic grows into a life-long participation in public interest law and pro bono work, PILI offers a pro bono program, the Pro Bono Initiative (or PBI), through which we promote best practices for pro bono work, help ensure effective communication about available pro bono opportunities, and act as a clearinghouse and resource for pro bono issues:

Internship and Fellowship Programs

PILI Interns (first or second year law students) and Fellows (recent law school graduates) work at, and learn about, legal institutions serving the public interest. Their Internships and Fellowships begin what PILI hopes is a life-long participation in public interest law and pro bono work. Both PILI Interns and Fellows provide low-income and disenfranchised clients with critically needed legal assistance, while simultaneously gaining valuable work experience at a wide array of public interest law agencies in the Chicago metropolitan area. PILI raises the funds necessary to support dozens of student Internships ($5,000 per full-time summer intern) at our affiliated agencies. Graduate Fellows are sponsored by one of nearly two dozen Chicago law firms, each of which absorbs the salary costs of their new associates who choose to work as PILI Fellows.  PILI Fellows have the scheduling flexibility that allows them to participate in formal bar review and take the bar examination during their Fellowships.

 

In addition to continually raising funds to support the cost of intern stipends, PILI’s staff works year-round to ensure quality supervision by experienced lawyers at our agencies.  PILI also provides a ten-week educational luncheon seminar series for Interns & Fellows, and hosts social and networking events throughout the summer. 

 

PILI also offers a smaller school-year Internship and Fellowship program which is open only to students from Chicago-area law schools.

 

Pro Bono Initiative Program

Through our pro bono program, the Pro Bono Initiative (PBI), we work collaboratively with law firms, corporations, legal services agencies, and law schools to create and promote work environments, programs, and opportunities that help new associates’ and seasoned attorneys actualize their commitment to pro bono work.  The Pro Bono Initiative is a pro bono resource for:

Through the PBI, we offer a monthly e-newsletter, host numerous pro bono panels, events and forums, and distribute several publications including a Pro Bono Reference Guide which provides Illinois law firms and corporations with direction, best practices and relevant samples to aid them in developing or enhancing their pro bono programs.

All sectors of Chicago’s legal community must communicate effectively, work collaboratively, and foster a spirit of cooperation to make access to justice a reality for the poor. Law schools must equip today’s students with finely tuned skills to become tomorrow’s attorneys. Firms and corporations must nurture and promote a work environment that encourages uncompensated legal assistance in the public interest, and practicing attorneys must honor their professional responsibility to provide such assistance. Legal services agencies must relentlessly serve those in need with expertise and compassion, knowing that the need far exceeds their resources.

PILI has positioned itself at the juncture of the legal community’s many sectors, where it seeks to build professional relationships into working partnerships between educators, law students, law firms, corporations, attorneys, and legal services agencies.   Leveraging legal resources into legal assistance creates a culture of service that furnishes poor people with powerful tools to overcome a host of legal obstacles. Buying a home, becoming a citizen, adopting a child, securing disability benefits, gaining asylum – such achievements and a host of others – are made possible through legal assistance.  PILI builds a culture of service that changes lives and opens opportunities for futures of prosperity, success, health, and fulfillment.