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Click here for a description of Internships as compared to Fellowships
Note: While virtually all agencies are eligible to host Fellows, only agencies marked with an asterisk receive PILI funding for Student Internships. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
*ACCESS LIVING OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO Chicago, IL 60610 Contact: Kenneth M. Walden Website: www.accessliving.org
Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago is a cross disability organization governed and staffed by a majority of people with disabilities. We strive to enhance the opportunities of persons with disabilities to live individualized and satisfying lives. To this end, Access Living undertakes advocacy and service programs that reach the entire spectrum of disability from hearing and sight to physical and mental disabilities. These activities include: peer-oriented independent living services; public education, awareness and development; and individual and systemic advocacy and enforcement of civil rights. Access Living's mission includes addressing major impediments to independent living for people with disabilities, such as discrimination in housing, government services and public accommodations. Access Living has a Civil Rights Team, whose mission is the enforcements of federal, state and local civil rights laws -- including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act -- that prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities. Attorneys and legal assistants counsel persons with disabilities about their civil rights, advocate for systemic change within the disability rights arena, and represent persons with disabilities in cases implicating important disability rights issues. PILI Interns and Fellows interview clients, investigate cases, conduct legal research, and draft legal documents. A concerted effort is made to integrate Interns and Fellows into the day-to-day operations of the organization; hence, they participate in staff meetings, Team meetings and other relevant events. *AIDS LEGAL COUNCIL OF CHICAGO Contact: Ruth Edwards, 312-427-8990 Fax: 312-427-8419
The AIDS Legal Council of Chicago is the only organization in metropolitan Chicago exclusively devoted to providing legal services and legal information/advocacy to persons affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus ("HIV"). The Council provides legal services directly and through a panel of volunteer lawyers in the following specialties of law: employment; insurance; discrimination; bankruptcy; HIV testing; confidentiality; immigration; estate planning; guardianship; and public benefits. PILI Interns and Fellows spend a substantial amount of time dealing directly with clients and handling day-to-day legal matters. For example, Interns and Fellows interview clients, counsel clients about HIV/AIDS-related legal matters, draft wills and powers of attorney, conduct legal research, draft legal memoranda and briefs, and represent clients in administrative proceedings. Students with 711 licenses may appear in court on behalf of clients. ALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES (formerly LAKE MICHIGAN FEDERATION) Contact: Frances Canonizado 312-939-0838 The Alliance for the Great Lakes works to restore fish and wildlife habitat, conserve land and water, and eliminate pollution in the watershed of America's largest lake. We achieve these through education, research, law, science, economics, and strategic partnerships. Since 1970, the Alliance has been working with people from around the region to promote Great Lakes-wide policy reform and site-specific restoration in the Lake Michigan watershed. The PILI Fellow would assist the Alliance's staff counsel with projects to protect the Great Lakes. Examples might include filing a legal brief to save a sand dune, assisting community groups with opposing siting of a new power plant, or working to stop sewer overflows into the Great Lakes, through litigation and other methods. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency.
THE ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE Contact: Clare M. Pinkert The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the nation's oldest civil rights organizations, was founded in 1913 in Chicago with the mission to fight anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry. Since that time, ADL has dedicated itself to exposing and countering all varieties of hatred and extremism while promoting and protecting the civil rights and liberties of all Americans. ADL attorneys file briefs, analyze pending and proposed bills and regulations, draft model laws, prepare testimony and legal reports and offer guidance to ADL staff, lay leaders, constituents and the media on such issues as the separation of church and state, the free exercise of religion, freedom of expression, hate crimes and discrimination. The Legal Affairs Department also provides guidance to ADL Regional Offices on the numerous discrimination complaints that come to the League every year. PILI Interns and fellows work closely with ADL's Midwest Civil Rights Counsel and other members of ADL's regional and national staff. ADL interns will receive extensive experience in research and writing and exposure to fascinating issues of constitutional law. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. BETTER GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION Jay Stewart, Executive Director
The Better Government Association (BGA) is an eighty-year old nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to combating waste, fraud and corruption in government through a combination of investigative research, policy analysis and public education initiatives. Recent examples of the BGA's work include:
PILI Fellows will work on a wide variety of legal questions resulting from the BGA's work, including preparing public testimony, legal briefs, monitoring public interest litigation and other activities as needed. Fellows are welcome to suggest projects which may be of interest to the BGA and appropriate to their chosen area of law. Fellows may coordinate their schedules with the Executive Director. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. *BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE FOR THE 25 East Washington, Suite 1515 Contact: Adam Gross 312-641-5570 Fax: 312-641-5454
Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI), a 33 year-old public interest law center, has a diverse practice that concentrates in fair housing, community revitalization, school reform, and the environment. BPI's mission is to improve the quality of life for residents of the metropolitan area by assisting those whose interests would otherwise be under-represented. Our mission allows BPI to take on a broad array of projects. For example, we have helped provide enhanced life opportunities to 25,000 victims of CHA racial discrimination, secured the largest refund in public utility history for Commonwealth Edison customers, won a landmark lawsuit halting construction of an outer suburban toll highway on environmental grounds, and encouraged the development of dozens of "small schools" in Chicago, arguably the most hopeful public education reform. With a diverse staff of lawyers, policy analysts, and community organizers, and partnerships with community organizations, civic groups, legal advocacy groups, and other non-profits, BPI is able to adopt multifaceted strategies in most projects. We employ a variety of tools based on a project's needs, including litigation, policy advocacy, grassroots organizing, collaboration with business and community organizations, and academic research. PILI Interns and Fellows research legal and policy issues, write memoranda, briefs, and policy papers, develop legal strategies, and participate in various aspects of our community organizing work, all in connection with the projects described above. Occasionally, Interns and Fellows assist in trial proceedings and attend hearings. Recent Interns and Fellows have worked on desegregating public housing programs, efforts to increase the supply of inclusionary affordable housing, a comprehensive community revitalization initiative, and school reform. *CABRINI GREEN LEGAL AID CLINIC Contact: Andy Dougherty 312-266-1345 Fax: 312-266-7417
The Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic has served low-income residents of the Cabrini Green development and the surrounding community for over 32 years. We represent clients in felony and misdemeanor cases, evictions, other tenant/landlord disputes, abuse/neglect and delinquency hearings, all areas of family law, and the clearing of criminal records. PILI Interns and Fellows participate in all phases of litigation, including drafting pleadings, discovery and motions, assisting with trials and post-trial motions. They also investigate complaints, conduct intake interviews, research and write memoranda, and represent clients at various types of administrative hearings. CENTER FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION Contact: Marilyn Smith
The Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR) is a Chicago-based organization founded in 1979. In the past three decades, CCR has grown to become one of the nation’s premier not-for-profit providers of mediation services and training. Since its founding, the organization’s volunteer mediators have handled over 30,000 disputes. In 2004, CCR’s 190 volunteers and 11 staff members provided mediation services in approximately 2,000 cases, directly serving over 4,000 people. The Center for Conflict Resolution’s mission is to work with individuals, communities, courts, and other institutions to manage and resolve conflict. CCR is committed to providing the highest quality conflict resolution services; helping people in conflict arrive at their own solutions; being responsive to the needs of the broad community it serves; granting access to its services to all people regardless of means or identity; valuing its clients, volunteers and staff as essential to fulfilling its mission; and broadening awareness to the general public of the substantial benefits of conflict resolution. CCR provides free mediation services for issues of community concern, public health, criminal misdemeanor, juvenile, landlord-tenant, small claims, employment discrimination, and Chancery Court cases throughout the Chicagoland region. Through its mediation services, CCR streamlines the judicial process, empowers individuals to find solutions to their problems, and ensures that mediation is available as an alternative to litigation, regardless of ability to pay. A PILI post-graduate Fellow would deliver direct mediation services both as a case manager and as a certified CCR mediator. Upon arrival, the Fellow would receive 40 hours of mediation training and individual coaching to become certified to both manage mediation referrals as well as mediate cases directly. The Fellow would report to the Director of Mediation Services and work closely with the five member case management team. The Fellow would also meet regularly with Executive Director to assist with special projects and to ensure that his/her experience is rewarding and diverse. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. CENTRO ROMERO Contact: Frank Melone 773-508-5300 x19 / Fax: 312-508-5399 Bilingual (Spanish/English) ability is preferred
CENTRO ROMERO is a not-for-profit community-based organization recognized by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). It was founded by refugees of El Salvador fleeing civil war, and is named for Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who was assassinated during that conflict.
CENTRO ROMERO's Latin American Legal Assistance Services Program offers legal services and representation in family-based immigration, adjustment of status, consular processing, political asylum, cancellation of removal, NACARA suspension of deportation, temporary protected status, citizenship and naturalization, VAWA self-petitioning and adjustment, and general representation before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formely the INS), in Immigration Court, and in the Chicago Asylum Office. The PILI Fellow will be working under direct attorney supervision, and will become involved in those activities and cases currently in progression. Specifically, the PILI Fellow may be assigned to conduct client interviews; correspond with clients or government agencies; collect, organize, evaluate, and assemble supporting documentary evidence; conduct factual or legal research; draft briefs, memorandums, annotated indices, motions, applications, petitions, and other papers and documents; assist in all aspects of immigration case progression from beginning to resolution; and prepare clients for Asylum Office Interviews or Immigration Court Hearings. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. THE CHICAGO APPLESEED FUND FOR JUSTICE Contact: Malcolm Rich 312-988-6565 The Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, the Chicago affiliate of the Appleseed Foundation, is a part of a network of public interest advocacy centers located throughout the United States. Our emphasis is research and advocacy designed to improve the judiciary, the legal profession, and our system of justice. We operate three major programs: Government Effectiveness; Social Justice; and Public Education. Through the Government Effectiveness Program, Chicago Appleseed conducts investigations into the fairness and effectiveness of courts and those aspects of government agencies that depend on the judicial system. Examples of past investigations include the Chicago Dept. of Law, the Cook County Public Defender's Office, the Illinois Attorney General's Office, and the Child Support Division of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. Under the Social Justice Program, we conduct research and advocacy aimed at achieving fundamental, systemic reform -- addressing policies, practices, and structures that thwart social justice. Examples include: the Child Support Panel that developed a model child support collection and enforcement system; the Child Support Initiative that includes both research into improving the current system and individual representation of parents in the system; and the Judicial Financing Project that conducts quantitative and interview research as part of our effort to develop proposals for reform. Through the Public Education Program, we produce publications about legal issue that affect the public at large. Examples include a handbook on tenant/landlord rights and a directory of free and low cost legal services in the Chicago metropolitan area. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency.
CHICAGO-KENT COLLEGE OF LAW Chicago, Illinois 60661 Contact: Gary Laser 312-906-5050 Fax: 312-906-5299
The Law Offices, the locus of the clinical education programs of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, is a teaching law firm which provides representation in a broad range of criminal and civil litigation matters. The educational goals of its clinical programs are to educate the student participants to become reflective practitioners who are highly competent, ethical, and sensitive to their pro bono and other social responsibilities. Fellows at the Law Offices will work on challenging criminal or civil litigation under the close supervision of one or more of nine of the Law Offices' in-house clinical professors, all experienced practicing attorneys. They will participate in all aspects of assigned cases. Fellows will be involved in client contact, litigation strategy sessions, legal research and writing, drafting pleadings and motions, discovery, settlement, trials or other court proceedings, etc. The two criminal defense attorneys represent defendants in felony cases in the federal and state courts. Two civil litigation attorneys concentrate on employment discrimination and civil rights matters but also handle other civil litigation. One attorney focuses on health law issues; one represents low-income persons with disputes before the Internal Revenue Service, United States Tax Court, and the U. S. District Court; one attorney focuses primarily on family law issues; one attorney focuses on immigration and naturalization issues; and one attorney specializes in intellectual property and patent law. Through the services of the Advice Desk, we provide interviewing, counseling, other representation and referral services to approximately 4,000 pro se defendants. In addition, the advice desk provides full representation through motion practice, discovery and trials, to at least 200 of its clients annually. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. *CHICAGO LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR Contact: Clyde Murphy
The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a non-profit law and advocacy organization, whose mission is to promote and protect the civil rights of poor, minority, and disadvantaged people in order to facilitate their participation in the social, economic, and political systems of our community and nation. Committee staff with PILI Interns and Fellows engage in both litigation and community advocacy in four substantive areas: 1) the Employment Opportunity Project, which represents women and minorities in mediation and in litigation as they attempt to find and retain employment; 2) the Project to Combat Bias Violence, which is the only comprehensive resource center on hate crime prevention and response in the Midwest; 3) the Fair Housing Project, which promotes fair housing through testing, education and litigation, as well as through helping increase the availability of affordable, integrated and safe housing in the Chicago area; and 4) the Community Economic Development Opportunity Law project, which helps non profit groups with their efforts to revitalize low income city neighborhoods, and also helps low income people start their own businesses. The Committee also occasionally takes on other issues that don't fall neatly into these categories, such as legislative redistricting and enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act, as they intersect with our mission. In addition to assignments requiring legal research, memos, draft motions and briefs, PILI Interns and Fellows may attend court hearings, depositions, and meetings with other advocacy and community organizations, and may participate in intake interviews and any other activities in which Committee lawyers are engaged. The goal of the Committee's program is to provide participants with a challenging civil rights learning experience, while obtaining high quality work product in order to fulfill the Committee's goal of equal justice for all. APPLICATION INFORMATION: Priority is given to 2L applicants. *CHICAGO LEGAL CLINIC, Inc.
Contact: Veda Dmitrovich, Director of Volunteer Services
The Chicago Legal Clinic provides free and low-cost legal services to Chicago's low-income people. The Clinic has a variety of programs, including the Domestic Violence Program, the Pro Bono Program, the Immigration Project, and the Environmental Law Program, and also conducts numerous educational seminars as a public service to the community. The Clinic was founded in 1981 by Edward Grossman (Executive Director) and the Rev. Thomas Paprocki (President). The Clinic provides legal services from each of the neighborhood offices. The Clinic offices deal primarily with family law (divorce, child support, visitation, orders of protection, etc.), guardianship of minors and disabled adults, social security disability, bankruptcy, real estate, landlord/tenant issues, decedent's estates, consumer fraud, tort defense, immigration, and environmental issues. In the Pilsen Office, Intern applicants who speak Spanish are preferred. PILI Interns and Fellows will research legal issues, draft pleadings, directly communicate with clients, and can appear in court pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711. Address letters to : Ms. Veda Dmitrovich at the South Chicago Office, 2938 E. 91st Street, Chicago, IL 60617. *CHICAGO VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES FOUNDATION Contact: Phillip J. Mohr 312-332-3528 Fax: 312-332-1460
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation (CVLS) is an organization of nearly 2,000 volunteer attorneys and paralegals who represent indigent Chicagoans in almost all types of civil matters. CVLS operates free neighborhood legal clinics and has a panel referral program. In addition to a support staff, our administrative office has five attorneys, all who handle their own caseloads and provide support to the volunteers. Though we handle almost all civil legal matters, our focus is on family law, guardianship, and economic defense cases. We assist people with their immediate legal needs. In a typical year we handled over 16,000 cases. With the oversight of staff attorneys, PILI Interns and Fellows assist the staff and volunteer attorneys and their clients appearing in the Circuit Court of Cook County and before various administrative agencies. Duties will include legal and factual research, interviewing, and the preparation of briefs, pleadings and documents. Additionally, each Intern and Fellow will be given his/her own client caseload. Those Fellows and Interns eligible to receive an Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 license, will, under supervision, appear in court to conduct all pretrial, trial and post-trial proceedings for their clients.
*CITIZEN ADVOCACY CENTER Elmhurst, Illinois 60126 Contact: Ms. Terry Pastika, 630-833-4080 Fax: 630-833-4083
The Citizen Advocacy Center builds democracy for the 21st century by strengthening public participation in community affairs. The Center believes in developing self-government. Three principal features distinguish us from other public interest and community organizations: 1) we are involved in a wide range of community issues; 2) we are not a legal intake office, but provide free assistance to individuals and community groups on issues of public concern; and 3) we litigate when necessary, but emphasize non-litigation approaches to strengthen the democratic process and to empower all citizens. The Center promotes individual and community efforts to resolve contemporary societal problems in the western and far western suburbs of Chicago; we further public knowledge of democratic tools -- open government laws, voter initiative and referendum, and access to the airwaves and the electronic networks; we stimulate citizen awareness and involvement in the community; we help citizens act on issues of public significance by guiding them through the maze of laws, rules, regulations and red tape; and we litigate on behalf of select citizen causes to confront undemocratic abuses of local power. The Center also monitors local governments at the local levels. PILI Fellows and Interns work on a wide range of advocacy, from writing letters to the editor to all aspects of litigation. They gain significant experience in public speaking, community organizing, legal research and writing, teaching, and shaping legal strategy. COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Contact: Susan Kaplan 312-939-3638 Fax: 312-427-6172
The Community Economic Development Law Project CEDLP is a long-standing project of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Since 1985, it has provided transactional pro bono legal assistance to community-based organizations involved in economic and affordable housing development. The majority of the work is done through its panel of volunteers. A second program focuses on low to moderate income people who are starting their own businesses. The majority of this work is done in-house, under the supervision of a staff attorney. Typically, CEDLP clients need assistance with securing tax exempt status, selecting the appropriate corporate structure, drafting and reviewing contracts, and creating joint ventures with for profit corporations. Representation is often needed in the areas of real estate acquisition, zoning, and financing. A PILI Fellow could conduct client interviews, visit community organizations, draft tax exemption applications, by-laws, and articles of incorporation, determine appropriate corporate structure for individual business clients, and engage in other transactional matters. NOTE: PILI does not fund summer interns at this agency (School-year Interns and Fellows only.) COOK COUNTY OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC GUARDIAN Contact: Carolyn Thomas
Attorneys in the Office of the Public Guardian's Juvenile Division represent about 17,000 children alleged to have been abused or neglected by their parent or guardian. The Office has two practice groups in Juvenile Court: attorneys who represent children on a daily basis, and attorneys who engage in impact litigation and appeals. The Division has over 165 attorneys, child interviewers, investigators, and support staff. Fellows may divide their time between the two practice groups. Fellows with Rule 711 licenses appear in Juvenile Court representing children at all stages of the proceedings, including temporary custody hearings, trials, and dispositional hearings. They may also by involved in hearings for the termination of parental rights. The children range in age from infants to 21-year-olds with some developmental disabilities. Other litigation assignments may include drafting class action complaints, writing appellate briefs, interviewing children, and conducting investigations. The Office also handles appeals and damages actions on behalf of children who have been abused and even murdered in foster care. All Fellows and Interns must participate in our one week formal training program. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. LAW OFFICE OF THE Contact: Nik-ki Whittingham 312/603-0677
The mission of the Cook County Public Defender's Law Office is to protect the fundamental rights, liberties, and dignity of each person whose case is entrusted to us by providing the finest legal representation. Our clients are accused of offenses ranging from traffic and misdemeanor charges to capital murder. The Office defends poor people in the largest unified court system in the world. The staff includes over five hundred attorneys, over a hundred support staff, and 68 investigators staff. The Law Office is currently organized into the following divisions: Felony Trial, Child Protection, Juvenile Justice, Legal Resources (Appeals and Post-Convictions), Firts Municipal (Misdemeanor), and Multiple Defendants. There are five suburban municipal districts, located in Skokie, Rolling Meadows, Maywood, Bridgeview, and Markham. Additionally, there are several specialized units, including Traffic, Forensic Science, Homicide Task Force, and Paternity. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. *CARPLS Contact: Pat Wrona, Legal Director
CARPLS is a legal aid hotline that provides advice, information, and referrals to low-income residents of Cook County. Our mission is to increase access to the legal system for low-income people through our hotline work as well as our Self-Help Project, which provides written and web-based pro se and client education materials, and our court-based Post-Decree Desk, which prepares clients to represent themselves on post decree matters. CARPLS' services are provided by part-time staff attorneys and volunteers. We will train PILI Interns and Fellows in the substantive legal areas our volunteers cover (bankruptcy, landlord/tenant and employment law) and have the Interns and Fellows join our hotline staff. In addition, we will train the PILI Intern and Fellow in domestic relations law and have him/her assist in staffing our Domestic Relations Self-Help desk. Interns and Fellows will also assist in researching and drafting self-help materials, drafting documents for pro se divorces, and assisting with special projects and other research projects. CORPORATION FOR SUPPORTIVE HOUSING Contact: Sue Augustus, State Director Website: www.csh.org
The Corporation for Supportive Housing’s (CSH) mission is to help communities create permanent affordable housing with services to prevent and end homelessness. We are the only national organization dedicated to growing the supportive housing industry. CSH Illinois began its local efforts in 1992 by forging a partnership with the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, Chicago’s non-profit housing and service providers and the local philanthropic sector. Through this partnership, CSH Illinois has committed more than $17.2 million in grants, loans and consultant services to 37 supportive housing projects. This investment helped create 2,355 units of supportive housing, including 1,926 in Chicago. CSH does not provide direct services to clients or tenants. CSH offers three lines of services and products: project specific assistance to help create supportive housing through technical and financial assistance; capacity and industry building initiatives to strengthen the supportive housing industry; and systems change and public policy reform to build the political, program and financial infrastructure for supportive housing. PILI Fellows would assist with CSH's SSI Homeless Pilot Project, which provides legal assistance to persons who are chronically homeless and disabled due to mental illness so that they can secure federal disability benefits. The Project is staffed by one attorney coordinator who works in partnership with two community based mental health service providers which ensures that clients benefit from both legal and social services. A PILI Fellow would conduct outreach to, and interview clients, assist clients in completing necessary paperwork, gather and summarize medical records, and draft written legal arguments supporting a finding of disability under federal law. Fellows would also have an opportunity to learn the project development and finance side of supportive housing development. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS (CAIR) CHICAGO Civil Rights Division 28 East Jackson Boulevard, Suite 1410 Chicago, IL 60604 Contact: Christina Abraham 312-212-1520 Fax: 312-212-1530 Website: www.cairchicago.org
CAIR-Chicago is a local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR is the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization. The organization’s mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. CAIR-Chicago’s Civil Rights Department counsels, mediates and advocates on behalf of Muslims and others who have experienced religious discrimination, defamation, or hate crimes. The department works to protect and defend the constitutional rights of Muslims in the area, thereby supporting the rights of all Americans. In addition to pursuing individual complaints of religious discrimination reported to CAIR-Chicago, the Civil Rights Department pursues several special projects that target important issues in the Muslim community. The Citizenship Delay Project has worked to end the lengthy delays in the citizenship process for Muslims applying for citizenship by political and legal means. In 2006, CAIR-Chicago filed a class action law suit with the National Immigrant Justice Center and Competition Law Group. The Employment Discrimination Project seeks to help Muslims facing religious discrimination at the workplace. The Travel Free Project deals with complaints of Muslims encountering problems while traveling. The Police Misconduct Project advocates and represents clients in cases of police misconduct. The Prison Project looks to secure the rights of Muslim inmates to practice their religion freely as well as to ensure that inmates are treated humanely. Finally, the Free Campus Coalition aims to protect and advocate for the right of faculty, staff and students to engage freely in intellectual exploration and discourse on American university and college campuses. Fellows will work closely with CAIR-Chicago’s Staff Attorney and Civil Rights Coordinator in representing complainants who have experienced various forms of religious discrimination. Fellows should be organized and committed to working on a case through its completion. The ideal Fellow will possess excellent oral and written communication skills and an interest in protecting civil liberties in the United States. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency.
DePAUL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW CLINICAL PROGRAMS 312-362-8402; Fax: 312-362-6918 Misdemeanor Clinic Special Education Advocacy Clinic
The DePaul University College of Law Clinical Programs provide legal services to low-income persons and groups working in low-income communities in the Chicago area. PILI Fellows can work in the areas of asylum/immigration, death penalty, misdemeanors, and special education advocacy. The Asylum and Immigration Clinic represents individuals before the Immigration and Naturalization Service and Immigration Courts in asylum and other immigration cases, and provides technical assistance to community organizations. The Death Penalty Clinic researches and investigates death row convictions and offers representation in pending capital cases. PILI Fellows may appear in court under Supreme Court Rule 711 with the supervision of a licensed attorney. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEGAL CLINIC (DVLC) Contact: Mary S. Trew, Executive Director
DVLC is a civil legal services clinic designed to provide assistance in obtaining emergency orders of protection. We serve low-income residents of Cook County who have been subjected to domestic abuse and are seeking protection from the abuser. DVLC is located in the new domestic violence courthouse. Upon arriving at DVLC, clients are asked to go through an initial intake evaluation. They will meet with a staff member or intern to discuss the particulars of the case. Clients will receive legal information about their situation, referrals and/or free legal representation in obtaining an emergency order of protection that same day. Fellows with a 711 practice license may act as counsel in court under the supervision of the clinic managing attorney. Other duties may include client intake and preparation of court documents. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. *ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER Contact: Meleah Geertsma, Senior Attorney 312-673-6500
The Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), the Midwest's leading public interest environmental advocacy and eco-business innovation organization, seeks to hire PILI Interns and Fellows for Summer 2008. Our Interns and Fellows support ELPC's state and federal litigation and policy work throughout the Midwest. About ELPC: ELPC's major program areas include: promoting clean energy development strategies that reduce environmental degradation by supporting energy efficiency and renewable resource alternatives to nuclear and coal plants; developing innovative transportation approaches, such as the Midwest high-speed railroad network, that will lead to cleaner air and more jobs, and proposing "smart growth" alternatives to sprawl-inducing new road projects; and developing sound environmental management practices that preserve natural resources and improve the quality of life in our communities. One of ELPC's premises is that environmental progress and economic development can be achieved together. ELPC's multidisciplinary professional staff include attorneys, M.B.A.'s, public policy advocates, and communications specialists. ELPC was established in 1993. Please see ELPC's website for more information at www.elpc.org. Responsibilities: PILI Interns and Fellows work with ELPC attorneys and other professional staff on ELPC policy, legislative and general advocacy issues, and on federal and state court litigation. Job activities may include legal and legislative research, litigation and pre-litigation support, developing case strategies, legislative drafting, clean energy business development, grass roots advocacy work, and special projects. Interns and Fellows also may attend meetings with state and federal agencies, legislators, concerned citizens, and participate in depositions and other litigation activities. Interns and Fellows assume a significant level of responsibility commensurate with their interests and abilities. Qualifications: Applicants should have a strong academic record, excellent writing and analytical skills, and a demonstrated interest in and commitment to public interest and environmental advocacy. Because we intend to hire all Fellows and Interns by February, we encourage application through PILI as early as possible in the Fall. Please, no telephone inquiries. *EQUIP FOR EQUALITY Contact: Barry Taylor 312-341-0022 Fax: 312-341-0295 TTY: 800-610-2779
Equip for Equality, Inc. is a private nonprofit, statewide organization whose mission is to advance the human and civil rights of people with disabilities by promoting the principles of equality, self-determination, and dignity. The four substantive priority areas of Equip for Equality are discrimination, community integration, safety from abuse and neglect, and self-determination. Equip for Equality has a Legal Department that engages in a wide range of services for people with disabilities including information and referral, self advocacy assistance, technical assistance, legal advice, negotiation, and direct representation. The direct representation includes representation in administrative, state and federal forums. The Legal Department balances the requests for direct legal services with pro-active, impact litigation seeking systemic change. Equip for Equality also has a Public Policy Department that works to achieve changes in state legislation, public policies, and programs to safeguard individual rights. Program personnel draft and secure passage of state legislation and participate in state regulatory and policy making processes. Equip for Equality provides students with a comprehensive legal experience in traditional legal research and writing, as well as significant opportunities in the practical aspects of disability legal and public policy work. Students are assigned to ongoing cases and have the opportunity to participate and observe all stages of litigation.
FEDERAL DEFENDER PROGRAM Contact: Sergio F. Rodriguez 312-621-8300
The Federal Defender Program is a not-for-profit private corporation which provides free legal representation to all persons accused of committing federal crimes who cannot afford to hire private counsel. The Program was created in 1965. Our goal is to provide the highest quality legal representation to our clients at all stages of their cases. Federal criminal cases include a wide variety of offenses such as drug and gun cases, kidnapping, bank robbery, embezzlement, forgery, counterfeiting, mail theft, mail fraud, interstate theft, and RICO. PILI Fellows work on many of these cases, and are involved in client interviews, both in the defender office and at the nearby Metropolitan Correctional Center. They accompany attorneys on case investigations, make numerous courtroom appearances with the assigned attorneys, and research and draft motions, memoranda appellate briefs, and possibly petitions for certiorari. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency.
HEALTH AND DISABILITY ADVOCATES (HDA) 205 West Monroe Street Contact: Amy Zimmerman
HDA works on a variety of policy and advocacy issues to assist low-income children and adults with disabilities. The Chicago Medical-Legal Partnership for Children (“CMLPC”) is a project of HDA. The CMLPC is a legal partnership with medical providers serving children with significant health challenges with the ultimate goal of improving children’s access to a full-range of social, developmental, medical and legal services and supports and removing systemic barriers. The CMLPC combines policy and advocacy efforts, serving as an incubator for health policy development for low-income children with significant health care needs.
The Chicago Medical-Legal Partnership for Children has three main components: 1.) Policy Development 2.) Technical Assistance & Training 3.) Direct Legal Services PILI fellows will also have an opportunity to work on HDA’s other policy and litigation initiatives including our Work Incentives Project and Access to Healthcare Project. The work may include: analysis of impact of changes/recommendations to statutory and regulatory provisions; interviewing and providing legal assistance to persons with disabilities in individual and class action matters; advocacy with governmental officials and others to improve benefits provided to uninsured and persons with disabilities; coalition building; preparing trainings for doctors, social workers and other interested persons regarding issues HDA works on. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency.
ILLINOIS GUARDIANSHIP & ADVOCACY COMMISSION Laura N. Sakas, Office of State Guardian
The Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission protects and enforces the rights of individuals with mental illness, developmental disability, or physical disability through three separate divisions. PILI Fellows will have the opportunity to work with the Legal Advocacy Service (LAS) and the Office of State Guardian (OSG). The staff attorneys of LAS provide advice and representation to thousands of persons with disabilities, including minors and adults as well as residents of the community and treatment facilities. Our services include: 1) serving as court-appointed counsel, in the trial and reviewing courts, in hearings for involuntary mental health treatment; 2) responding to requests for information regarding the legal rights of persons with disabilities; and 3) investigating alleged violations of those legal rights and providing advocacy to remedy ubstantiated violations. Fellows should have the opportunity to represent respondents in civil commitment hearings or to write a brief in an appeal from an order for civil commitment or involuntary psychotropic medication. In addition, Fellows will provide research and case preparation assistance to the LAS staff attorneys appointed to handle the mental health cases in court. Prior Fellows have researched the right of minors to refuse psychotropic medication and the right of respondents to refuse to testify in civil commitment hearings, and responded to telephone calls, Fellows provide information to persons in treatment facilities who have questions about their legal rights. The Office of State Guardian (OSG), the largest not-for-profit guardian in the United States, is the court-appointed guardian for more than 6,000 adults who, because of a disability, lack the capacity to make or communicate decisions concerning the care of their persons or estates, or both. OSG assumes guardianship of disabled adults if alternatives to guardianship have been exhausted, the appointment of a guardian is necessary, and family or friends are incapable or unwilling to serve as guardian. PILI Fellows will advise staff on the legal implications of actions, consents, and contractual agreements undertaken by OSG on behalf of its wards. PILI Fellows will participate in the management of estate assets as well as prepare and review inventories, accounts, and other court documents necessary to the proper management of those assets. PILI Fellows also will participate in legal and administrative hearings or proceedings necessary to protect a ward's interest. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. ILLINOIS LEGAL AID ONLINE Contact: Dan Rieken, Director of Content Development Substantive Websites:
Illinois Legal Aid Online was created in March 2001 as the Illinois Technology Center for Law & the Public Interest. The “tech center” was created by twelve partner organizations and was housed at Chicago-Kent College of Law for its first four years, which generously donated space, financial support, and technical resources to the organization. Today, Iliinois Legal Aid Online is a nonprofit statewide collaboration that is at the center of the Illinois legal services community, providing the statewide technology infrastructure that helps streamline the delivery of free and pro bono legal services to the poor, and provides easy to understand legal information and pro se assistance to the public. ILAO works with dozens of legal services related programs, introducing their staff and volunteers to the information and technology we have developed and encouraging them to contribute to our collaboration. Fellows are involved in many aspects of content development, from working with practicing legal aid attorneys around the state to write and edit content, to researching changes in the law, to attending and facilitating live webcasts of trainings for legal aid and pro bono attorneys and the public. All students are trained to work in our websites’ Content Management System, which is software that was designed to allow non-technical users to easily create, edit, update and manage information on the websites. Fellows’ work covers twenty-three (23) practice areas and twenty-six (26) different types of legal content, all created, edited and posted online to help lower-income and vulnerable people in Illinois and the attorneys who represent them. Fellows review new content for accuracy; edit content to be user-friendly; create links to other content on our sites and on other websites, including training videos, instructions, forms, FAQs, and manuals; and study and research the substantive aspects of the content. Special projects include building pro se “Guide Me” modules and developing supporting materials for self-help desks at the Daley Center and downstate. Guide Me modules provide self-represented users with all the information necessary to resolve a specific legal problem. Students do substantive research and rework various pieces of content into a format that is easy to use by pros se litigants. Developing self-help desk materials involves working with the attorneys and organizations staffing the desks as well as court room observation to understand not only the substantive law involved, but also the procedural aspects of those cases. In connection with the development and posting of supporting materials for these help-desks, we require students to volunteer at the desks to assist clients and to further understand the needs of clients and attorneys using the materials. This involvement also leads to more refined and useful content for clients and attorneys. In addition, Fellows attend attorney and public education trainings and facilitate the live webcasts of these trainings. Following the live trainings, they review the archived video versions and break them down by subtopic, which allows users to jump to topics of importance for them within a longer training. The work that fellows engage in while at Illinois Legal Aid Online familiarizes them with both substantive and procedural information in numerous practice areas and provides them with a sense of the need in, and commitment necessary to, the legal aid community. Students hone their research, writing and editing skills, are exposed to new methods for delivering legal information to attorneys and clients, and gain valuable experience helping clients navigate the legal system. We are hopeful that after spending time at Illinois Legal Aid Online fellows have a lingering commitment to public service as they move through their careers. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency.
IMMIGRANT CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER at the University of Chicago (Mandel Legal Clinic) 6020 S. University Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637 Contact: Maria Woltjen 773 702-0349 Fax 773-702-2063 The mission of the Immigrant Child Advocacy Center is to promote consideration of best interests in all decisions affecting unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States. These are children who arrive without their parents, from all corners of the world: Central America, Mexico, China, India, Romania, Somalia. They’re fleeing political upheaval, extreme poverty, child labor and abusive homes. In some cases they’ve come to be reunited with family members who preceded them here. The children are transported by traffickers or by hired smugglers, or make the dangerous journeys on their own. Sometimes they’re too young to understand why they’ve been sent to the United States. In 2005, 7,787 unaccompanied immigrant children were taken into custody by U.S. immigration authorities, up 25% from the previous year. They were caught at the borders and at the airports, and then sent to shelters throughout the country where their stay can range from a month to a couple of years; one such shelter is on the north side of Chicago. The Center is creating protocols for a national network of Child Advocates (guardians ad litem) for unaccompanied and separated immigrant and refugee children, including a framework for integrating child welfare principles in the U.S. immigration system. The Child Advocates are asked to write advocacy briefs incorporating domestic and international law, research conditions in the children’s countries of origin and figure out what, if anything, the children have to return to in these countries. Projects during the summer of 2008 will include research on repatriation of children to India and China, confidentiality for children in federal custody, and developing protocols for situations in which lawyers who file appearances on the children’s behalf have actually been hired by smugglers and traffickers.
In addition to assignments requiring legal research on international law, and drafting memos, PILI fellows will learn skills necessary to the practice of law including, interviewing children, counseling, writing, negotiating and advocacy, attending court hearings and meetings with other advocacy organizations. The goal of the Center is to provide participants with a challenging learning experience, while obtaining high quality work product in order to fulfill the Center’s goal of ensuring the best interests of unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States. Moderate fluency in Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi or Gujarati is preferred, but not necessary.
Please submit your resume to Maria Woltjen, Director, Immigrant Child Advocacy Center, either electronically (mwoltjen@uchicago.edu), fax (773-702-2063) or via regular mail: 6020 S. University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637
NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE CLINIC ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Law School, or IJ Clinic, is devoted to assisting lower income entrepreneurs with the legal intricacies of business ownership. A branch of the public interest law firm Institute for Justice, the IJ Clinic acts on the belief that legal tangles shouldn't get in the way of inner city residents who dream of starting their own businesses. The IJ Clinic provides a range of legal services to its clients, including advice on structuring a business; research on regulatory controls and licensing requirements; drafting or reviewing contracts and leases; the design of employment practices; protection of intellectual property; and counsel on other transactional or regulatory matters. PILI fellows will have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the IJ Clinic's general practice, from interviewing a potential client, to drafting an LLC operating agreement, to inspecting a storefront for compliance with a lease, to advising a client on the protectibility of the business's name. Fellows will be given substantive work to complete and will enjoy a great deal of contact with our clients. Fellows will work under the supervision of the two IJ Clinic attorneys.NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW INSTITUTE Contact: Ajitha Reddy 312-362-5919
The International Human Rights Law Institute is dedicated to developing and promoting international human rights law through teaching, research, technical assistance, and advocacy. Illustrative recent Institute activities include compiling and managing the United Nations data base on war crimes in the former Yugoslavia; providing legal counsel to the United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador; establishing an Inter-American Legal Clinic for participants in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras; advising the American Bar Association of the United States ratification of the American Convention on Human Rights; and leading a USAID-funded legal education reform project in Iraq. PILI Fellows may expect to assist in research and/or advocacy projects depending on the Institute's current docket. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. JOHN HOWARD ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS 300 W. Adams Street, Suite 423 Chicago, Illinois 60606 Contact: Malcolm C. Young, Executive Director 312-782-1901 Fax: 312-386-9202 Website: www.john-howard.org The John Howard Association of Illinois is one of only three independent organizations in the nation that exercises oversight of a state’s prisons, jails, and juvenile correctional facilities. Founded in 1901, the Association promotes fair, humane, and effective sentencing and correctional policies. It currently addresses inmates’ concerns and responds to their problems. Staff and volunteers regularly visit jails, prisons and detention centers and publish reports of their findings. Through these reports and drawing upon its insights into corrections, the Association provides critical information about the state’s criminal and juvenile justice system to decision-makers and the public.
Association staff members are currently active in reforms of the state’s juvenile justice system, the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, and the Cook County Jail. Issues currently of concern include: the Illinois Department of Corrections’ denial of programs and education to long term and maximum security prisoners; life-long incarceration for inmates who committed crimes while juveniles; the impact of changing the age of majority from 17 to 18 in Illinois; conditions at Illinois’ maximum security, segregation, and “supermax” prisons; unreasonable restrictions on granting parole or its modern equivalent, “mandatory supervised release;” various prison wardens’ arbitrary restrictions on an inmates’ right to marry; health care for prison and jail inmates; and, the constitutionality of “Supermax” prisons. A PILI Fellow could research one or more of these issues, represent inmates at parole hearings or join in and write reports describing the Association’s jails and prison visits. In either case, Fellows will gain a unique perspective on the corrections side of American justice.
NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL Contact: Damian Ortiz 312-786-2267 Fax: 312-786-1047 The John Marshall Law School Fair Housing Clinic provides legal services in cases of discrimination relating to housing, insurance, affordable housing, and lending. PILI Fellows will work under the supervision of the Clinical Director and the legal staff. It is expected that Fellows should have the opportunity to work on a wide range of fair housing, fair lending, insurance redlining, and other kinds of housing discrimination cases. The type of work Fellows will perform at the Clinic should include interviewing clients, counseling clients, participating in designing and supervising investigations, conducting tests, conducting auditing, drafting of pleadings and motions, engaging in discovery, settlement negotiations, and if available, court proceedings, trials and appellate work. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. *LAMBDA LEGAL Contact: James Madigan 312-663-4413 Fax: 312-663-4307
Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil right of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, the transgendered, and people with HIV or AIDS, through impact litigation, education, and public policy work. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in New York City, Lambda Legal has regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas. Lambda Legal's docket consists of test cases in a wide range of areas, including federal and state constitutional law such as first amendment and equal protection challenges; discrimination in employment rights, benefits, housing, insurance, schools, and other areas; prevention of anti-gay harassment and violence; anti-gay ballot initiatives; access to healthcare and AIDS-related treatments; child custody, visitation and adoption; and sodomy law reform. The Midwest Regional Office has three attorneys. Interns and Fellows work closely with the staff on developing and litigating matters.
*LAW PROJECT OF THE CHICAGO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS Contact: Laurene Heybach 312-435-4548 Fax: 312-435-0198
All applicants should submit a detailed cover letter explaining why he or she is interested in serving the legal needs of people experiencing homelessness. Also, CCH is intereted in any personal experience of the candidate with poverty or injustice. PILI Interns and Fellows work under the supervision of attorney Laurene (Rene) Heybach, Director of the Law Project, and Patricia Nix-Hodes, senior staff attorney. He/she is expected to carry a manageable work load which includes some of the following (depending in part, on the expressed interests of the PILI Interns and Fellows): research and writing of memos on legal issues, client interviewing, community outreach, drafting motions and court submissions, advocacy with state and local agencies related to public benefits, housing, child welfare services and education, assistance with preparation for and appearances at hearings where appropriate. If we initiate new litigation, we would involve PILI Interns and Fellows. Supervision would include daily interaction with the supervisor, review of all written work, observation and feedback on non-written work, direction regarding any tasks not previously learned or performed, and two periodic evaluations. *LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR BETTER HOUSING Contact: Rasheda Jackson 312-347-7600 Fax: 312-347-7604
Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing is a public interest law firm concerned with the creation and preservation of safe, decent, and affordable housing that is accessible to low- and moderate-income residents. PILI Interns and Fellows are engaged in Court monitoring, legal research, and court preparation for cases concerning building deterioration, utility shut-offs, landlord retaliation, and evictions. Interns and Fellows will draft pleadings, abstract depositions, research policy issues, negotiate settlements, write briefs, appear in court if licensed as a 711, and participate in community education programs. LAWYERS FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS Contact: William E. Rattner, Executive Director
Lawyers for the Creative Arts (LCA) is an agency that provides free legal assistance and legal education to artists and arts organizations of all kinds, the visual, performing, entertainment, and literary throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. The LCA acts as a pro bono coordinator that refers cases to its volunteer attorneys. The PILI Fellow will be involved in working with and educating artists and arts organizations about their legal rights and responsibilities. LCA provides legal assistance in a broad range of arts-related legal fields. The Fellow will be involved in interviewing clients and researching and assisting the staff attorneys in matters concerning such areas as copyright, trademark, tax, corporate and small business, collections, disputes, and real estate. Fellows will assist in the pro bono referral program and contribute to the researching, writing and editing of various contracts, licenses, intellectual property forms, and legal publications. PILI Fellows will also provide legal information to clients in the office and by telephone. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. LEGAL AID BUREAU Contact: Grace Lim 312-986-4015 Fax: 312-986-4016 Website: www.metrofamily.org/services/lab.asp The Legal Aid Bureau is Chicago's oldest and largest civil legal aid program, with an experienced staff, a large clientele from all sectors of Chicago and Cook County, and a high volume of courtroom work. LAB's services are limited to the area of family law. A PILI Fellow's assignments may involve domestic violence, custody, visitation, and divorce prove-ups. Assignments can include client contact as well as participation in litigation, negotiation, and policy initiatives. Computer skills would be appreciated. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. *LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION Contact: (for Fellows) Wallace C. Winter Contact: (for Summer Interns) Dan Lindsey Through its six intake offices (four in Chicago, one in Evanston, and one in South Holland), and various projects and teams, the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago's lawyers provide a full range of civil legal assistance to low-income residents of Chicago, including providing advice and counsel, litigation, and community education. LAFMC's size and diversity usually allow it to match the interest of each PILI Intern or Fellow with a particular office or area of the law. LAFMC's handles a wide spectrum of civil cases, including those involving public benefits, housing issues, rights of the homeless, women's rights, family law, children's rights, senior legal services, employment and race discrimination, migrant workers' rights, immigration, and rights of the disabled, including persons with HIV/AIDS. LIFE SPAN CENTER Contact: Denice Wolf Markham 312-408-1210 Life Span Center for Legal Services and Advocacy combines a full range of legal services with a complement of social services to survivors of domestic violence. The agency's services are free of charge to clients who are predominately poor or of low-income. The core of Life Span's legal services includes legal advice, information, and representation in all family law matters, such as divorce, custody, child support, visitation, removal, and orders of protection. The agency is particularly interested in some of the more complicated issues that confront domestic violence survivors, and has successfully represented clients whose abuse resulted in mental illness or drug and alcohol dependency. Our agency also provides immigration services to undocumented battered women and their children, including VAWA self-petitions and U-visas. Life Span has developed strategies to address the class and racial biases inherent in the court system that affect domestic violence survivors with particular severity. The office also does appellate work. A PILI Fellowwould perform a full range of tasks, from interviewing potential clients, doing legal research, drafting pleadings, and appearing in court. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. LOYOLA UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY LAW CENTER Community Law Center Contact: Theresa Ceko 312-915-7830 ChildLaw Clinic Contact: Stacey Platt 312-915-7940 Website: www.luc.edu/schools/law
The Community Law Center and its legal clinics are affiliated with the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. The Community Law Center serves low-income persons with a variety of civil legal problems. PILI Fellows of the Community Law Center will represent clients in disability claims, family law litigation, elder law, and in defense of eviction and consumer debt suits. The ChildLaw Clinic serves low-income children with a variety of civil and criminal legal problems. PILI Fellows of the ChildLaw Clinic will represent children in custody and visitation, delinquency, and abuse and neglect cases. The Business Law Clinic represents entrepreneurs and small business owners who are seeking legal assistance with for profit ventures, as well as individuals who are seeking assistance with nonprofit organizations in the Chicagoland area. Fellows typically work with several clients during the course of a summer, under the supervision of the director. The work is transactional in nature and may include providing assistance with a client's choice of legal entity, its formation, basic contract review and drafting, commercial lease matters, zoning requirments, business licenses and permits, and applications for tax-exempt status. The Clinic does not handle litigation matters. The work in the clinics will emphasize direct client contact, negotiation, preparation of pleadings, and representation at trials and hearings. Fellows may be involved in law reform projects, including litigations, amicus briefs, and less formal policy advocacy. They will receive close supervision and ongoing evaluation of their work. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. MacARTHUR JUSTICE CENTER
Northwestern University School of Law
The MacArthur Justice Center is a non-profit public interest law firm established in 1985 to litigate for human rights and social justice. The Center concentrates on cases raising significant criminal justice issues, uch as opposing the government's use of unjustified detentions in the war on terror; improving the quality of representation for indigent defendants; promoting acceptable conditions of incarceration and alternatives to incarceration; compensating the wrongfully convicted; and limiting the availability of firearms to unauthorized persons. PILI Fellows will work closely with the lawyers at the MacArthur Justice Center on a wide variety of projects. Fellows will gain experience in both criminal and civil litigation, including meeting with incarcerated clients, drafting pleadings, participating in litigation strategy, assisting during trials and engaging in meaningful and challenging research and writing. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. EDWIN F. MANDEL LEGAL AID CLINIC Contact: Randall Schmidt
The Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic is the clinical program of the University of Chicago Law School. The Clinic specializes in the areas of criminal justice, civil rights, employment discrimination, the rights of the mentally ill, and low-income housing development. The Clinic engages in litigation, appellate advocacy, legislative advocacy, and community-based advocacy and transactional work. PILI Fellows at the Clinic licensed to practice under Rule 711 are given as much responsibility as possible in the Clinic's cases. Under supervision, Fellows draft contracts, pleadings, briefs, and discovery requests; argue motions and appeals; take depositions; negotiate with opposing counsel; and try cases in state and federal courts and administrative agencies. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. *MEXICAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE Contact: Jennifer Nagda 312-427-0701
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is a national Latino civil rights advocacy organization dedicated to preserving and expanding civil rights in employment, education, immigrant rights, political access and public resource equity for Latinos. PILI Interns and Fellows will work on class action matters concerning immigrant rights, employment discrimination, voters' rights, political access and education. MALDEF deals with cases which have the greatest impact on the Latino community. Interns and Fellows will get experience in case development, legal research, developing strategies for successful litigation, client contact, expert witnesses and preparation of initial pleadings. Interns and Fellows are given the opportunity to become involved in all facets of litigation. *NATIONAL IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CENTER (formerly Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center) Contact: Pearl Pickett, 312-660-1363
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), formerly known as Midwest & Immigrant Human Rights, is a program of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights. It provides direct legal services to and advocates for low-income and impoverished immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. NIJC strives to advance rights and protections for these populations and empower them to participate fully in public life by monitoring and responding to human rights conditions and abuses at the local, regional, national and international levels, and leveraging its expertise to influence public policy and effect legislative and regulatory change. PILI Interns and Fellows work on a wide variety of projects, including asylum applications and hearings, deportation hearings and appeals, immigrant visa petitions, issues related to unaccompanied immigrant children, detained immigrant assistance, and related matters. Students work closely with clients from many different countries and cultures, and will have an opportunity to appear in court. Fluency in a relevant second language is strongly preferred. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY BLUHM LEGAL CLINIC Contact: Tom Geraghty, 312-503-8574 The Northwestern University Bluhm Legal Clinic is the legal clinic of the Northwestern University School of Law. The Clinic serves low-income persons with civil, juvenile and criminal legal problems. PILI Fellows work under the supervision of Clinic faculty on a variety of matters, including juvenile justice, immigration, civil, death penalty, and criminal cases. Clinic work provides PILI Fellows with a broad range of experience on relatively simple to complex cases. The goal is to provide each Fellow with significant experiences and feedback in lawyering skills, including interviewing, counseling, case planning, investigation, discovery procedures, negotiation, memorandum and brief writing, trial work, and appellate argument. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency. PRO BONO CENTER FOR DISABILITY AND ELDER LAW Contact: Thomas Wendt
The Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL) is a not-for-profit, pro bono Chicago law firm, serving low-income elderly and disabled persons since 1984. With 1,100 volunteer attorneys from throughout Chicago's distinguished legal community, CDEL handles cases in all practice areas, with the exceptions of criminal law and personal injury law. Chicago is home to 280,000 people with disabilities living below the poverty level. Of the nearly 500,000 elderly in Chicago, half are women who live alone in poverty. While studies show that 80% of the civil legal needs of Chicago's impoverished communities currently go unmet, CDEL works to bring equity to a legal system for those marginalized by poverty, disability and age. PILI Fellows have an opportunity to: gain a broad working knowledge of the legal system and a deeper understanding of individual practice areas, learn the protocol for pro bono legal services and become familiar with the every-day operation of a not-for-profit organization. Fellows will work under the direct supervision of CDEL Executive Director, staff and attorneys. Opportunities for service include: conducting client intakes, performing research for CDEL programs and practice areas and direct case management (where appropriate). Supreme Court 711 Program: Law students/graduates with current 711 licenses are invited to apply. 711 students will be assigned to specific cases and will work directly with attorneys from some of Chicago’s largest and most respected law firms in addition to CDEL staff attorneys. Strong written and communications and computer skills are a must. NOTE: PILI does not fund interns at this agency.
*THE ROGER BALDWIN FOUNDATION of the AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF ILLINOIS, Inc. Contact: Adam Schwartz 312-201-9740 Fax: 312-288-5225
The ACLU is devoted to protecting and expanding the civil liberties and civil rights of all Americans. The Roger Baldwin Foundation is the litigation arm of the ACLU of Illinois. We have an active docket of over 40 cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts, including the Illinois and U.S. Supreme Courts. Our cases raise issues of freedom of religion, police practices, education, and discrimination. We have special projects addressing AIDS and civil liberties, gay and lesbian rights, the rights of children and institutionalized persons, reproductive rights, and race and poverty. Our office has six full-time and one part-time attorney, making it one of the largest ACLU offices in the country. Interns and Fellows in our summer program work closely with experienced ACLU staff attorneys in all phases of litigation, including initial factual and legal investigations, drafting of pleadings and supporting documents for discovery and trial, and appellate proceedings. Projects are assigned depending upon the needs of the caseload and the students' personal interests. APPLICATION INFORMATION:Contact attorney is Adam Schwartz. In addition to submitting the PILI applications, applicants should consider sending a resume, writing sample, transcript, reference list, and cover letter to the address above. Please apply as early as possible; applications are considered through March, and offers are extended as qualified people apply. Priority is given to law students who have completed their second year of law school. A limited number of funded positions are available. Students who can arrange their own funding should so indicate. We are an affirmative action employer. Women, people of color, people differently abled, and gay men and lesbians are especially encouraged to apply. *SARGENT SHRIVER NATIONAL CENTER ON POVERTY LAW Contacts: Dan Lesser 312-368-2005 Raj Nayak 312-263-3830, ext. 243
The National Center on Poverty Law provides free legal representation to low-income persons and groups in Illinois on public policy issues involving welfare and subsidized housing. The Center represents clients before legislative bodies and administrative agencies, in class actions, and in individual cases with broader policy implications. In its welfare work, the Center addresses issues involving public benefits and services, including cash assistance, welfare-to-work, food stamps, medical assistance, community investment, child support, child care, domestic violence, and rights of non-citizens. Its housing work concentrates on representing public and subsidized housing tenants. The Center often works in coalition with other groups. The Center's attorneys write substantive articles for the Center's bimonthly journal of poverty law and policy, CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW, a monthly newsletter, Illinois Welfare News, and a periodic broadcast fax on issues affecting low-income women, WomanView. PILI Fellows and Interns work closely with Center attorneys on legislative and administrative advocacy activities, litigation, publications, and community work. * U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL Contact: Jerome B. Meites, Chief Civil Rights Counsel, Region V Website: www.hhs.gov/ogc NOTE: This agency does NOT host PILI post-graduate Fellowship positions With over 400 attorneys nationwide located in nine headquarters offices and ten regional offices, the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) provides a full range of legal services to HHS, the federal government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. Our work presents complex and challenging social, economic, scientific, ethical and legal issues, issues that affect the lives of virtually all Americans. The Office of the Chief Counsel for Region V, an area that encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, provides advice and representation to the Secretary of HHS and to the component agencies of the Department, primarily the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, (Medicare and Medicaid programs, with a special initiative on enforcement of health and safety standards in nursing homes), the Administration for Children & Families (Head Start, foster care and adoption assistance programs, welfare reform), the Indian Health Service (Native American health services through federal and tribal programs), Health Resources and Services Administration (health clinics, migrant health), the Office of Public Health and Science (women’s and minority health, public health preparedness), and the Office for Civil Rights (enforcing civil rights laws among recipients of HHS funds, including placement of disabled persons in the “most integrated” setting, investigating racial health disparities, examining child welfare issues, and providing services to persons with limited English proficiency). The legal services OGC provides involve both the administration of the Department’s myriad programs and internal matters like employment relations and ethics. A PILI Intern would fill a 'general law' intern position, which places an emphasis on health law matters. The intern will work with a number of attorneys in OGC-V on a variety of issues and programs, most probably including administrative or court-conducted litigation involving Medicare or Medicaid issues. The intern may also have an opportunity to work on government grant and contract issues involving agencies such as the Administration for Children and Families and the Indian Health Service. The intern will have a mentor, will work closely with the OGC attorneys to whom the matters to which the intern is assigned and will attend strategy sessions and meetings with program clients. |
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