Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI): Cultivating a lifelong commitment to public interest law: fellowship program participating agencies

PLEASE NOTE: The following is the complete list of agencies have been approved to participate in PILI's Graduate Fellowship Program. Please do not contact the agency directly to apply for a Fellowship as all applications must be made through PILI's online application system. As each Agency completes its hiring, they will be closed in our online application system so that they are no longer open to accept applications. Depending on when you apply, you may not find all of the Agencies listed below in the online application system.

Visit our FAQ page to learn more about our Graduate Fellowship Program and how to apply.

Contact: Kenneth M. Walden
312-640-2100 (tel.), 312.640-2102 (TTY)
Fax: 312-640-2101

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. 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, which enforces 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 Fellows interview clients, investigate cases, conduct legal research, and draft legal documents. Under the supervision of an attorney, Fellows often act as the main point-person on a few cases. A concerted effort is made to integrate 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
180 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2110
Chicago, Illinois 60601

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 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
17 N. State Street, Suite 1390
Chicago, Illinois 60602

The Alliance for the Great Lakes works to conserve and restore the world's largest freshwater resource through policy, education and local efforts aimed at preserving the Great Lakes region as a national treasure. To that end, we draw on many resources, working with teachers, scientists, economists, legal specialists, government representatives, communities and individuals. Since 1970, the Alliance has been working with people from around the region to promote Great Lakes-wide policy reform and site-specific restoration. The PILI Fellow would support Alliance staff on projects such as reducing untreated municipal sewage overflows, reducing pollution from key industrial facilities, reducing nonpoint nutrient runoff pollution into the Great Lakes, and controlling emerging contaminant threats to water quality. Common tasks may include review of discharge permits, researching environmental regulations, drafting comment letters and legal research and writing in support of the Alliance’s advocacy efforts.

ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE - CHICAGO
4753 N. Broadway St., Ste. 502
Chicago, IL 60640
Contact: Andrew Kang, Senior Staff Attorney, 773.271.0899 x 222
Website: www.advancingjustice-chicago.org

Asian American Institute (AAI) is a pan-Asian, non-partisan, non-profit organization located in Chicago, Illinois, whose mission is to empower the Asian American community through advocacy, coalition-building, education, and research. AAI is a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, whose other members include Asian American Justice Center, Asian Law Caucus, and Asian Pacific American Legal Center. AAI’s programs include legal advocacy, community organizing, and leadership development.

The PILI Fellow will be engaging in groundbreaking work on a range of issues, under the supervision of AAI’s Senior Staff Attorney. The PILI Fellow will assist AAI with researching and implementing civil rights initiatives in the areas of language access, immigration and affirmative action. The PILI Fellow will also have the opportunity to participate in amicus brief work conducted by the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. Depending on capacity and interest, the PILI Fellow may assist AAI in identifying ways to improve direct legal services and legal referral services for Asian Americans. During his or her time with AAI, the PILI Fellow will become an integral part of AAI’s staff and will be immersed in a range of agency matters, community events, and training opportunities.

The PILI Fellow would work in AAI’s office in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, which is easily accessible by public transportation, with the option to work remotely on an occasional basis. AAI is an equal opportunity employer and we encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.

The Better Government Association (BGA) is an eighty six-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.

Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI) is a public interest law and policy center that focuses on transforming segregated public housing, increasing the supply of affordable housing, addressing the foreclosure crisis, improving public education, and helping restore open, honest, responsible, and accountable government in Illinois. Since its inception in 1969, BPI has worked on the cutting edge of law and policy and at the forefront of efforts to address compelling issues of social justice and quality of life in the Chicago metropolitan area.

PILI Interns work under the direct supervision of BPI attorneys. They research legal and policy issues, write memoranda, briefs and policy papers, develop legal strategies and participate in various aspects of our advocacy work – examples of which are described below.

As counsel for the plaintiffs in the landmark Gautreaux litigation, BPI is advocating for public housing residents on many fronts, and is deeply engaged in the Chicago Housing Authority's multi-billion dollar effort to transform the City’s isolated, crumbling public housing projects into mixed-income communities. Among other things, BPI plays a central role creating and implementing plans for redeveloped communities and working to ensure that public housing residents receive the supportive services they need. Through Gautreaux, BPI has helped provide better housing and enhanced life opportunities for more than 25,000 victims of the CHA’s racial discrimination.

BPI is also recognized nationally for its affordable housing advocacy. BPI has spearheaded efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing in Illinois and to broadly disperse such housing throughout the region, including in communities with good jobs and schools, but little or no affordable housing. The organization was instrumental in passing a path-breaking state law to help encourage the creation of affordable housing in communities that lack it. BPI has also been instrumental in developing state, county and local programs to address the foreclosure crisis. BPI has produced dozens of publications on a range of affordable housing issues.

BPI is exploring a range of options to improve educational opportunities for families living in communities where public housing is being transformed. BPI filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s current school funding system. Previously, BPI worked with a group of neighborhood schools to significantly advance student learning by building individual school capacity for rigorous professional collaboration and whole school change.

And, BPI recently published a comprehensive report on Illinois inspector general offices. Recommendations from the report will form the basis for advancing specific policy and legislative initiatives. Additionally, BPI is acting as pro bono counsel for the Inspector General of the City of Chicago in its effort to require the City’s corporation counsel to comply with a subpoena that requests confidential information needed for the Inspector General to investigate a no-bid contract with a former top aide to Mayor Daley.

Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) provides high-impact, free legal services to low-income Chicagoans in four areas of law: family, housing, criminal records, and criminal defense. We actively integrate legal and social services in order to improve our legal outcomes and extend our impact beyond crisis support.

Our purpose is to answer God's call to seek justice and mercy by providing legal services to the poorest of the poor. Our vision is for our clients to leave us stronger than they came. We believe that justice is more than a verdict. It's an opportunity to build bridges and strengthen lives.

PILI Fellows work in one of our four practice areas under the supervision of our staff attorneys. Fellows participate in all phases of litigation, including drafting pleadings, discovery and motions, assisting with trials and post-trial motions. They also investigate cases, conduct intake interviews, research and write memoranda, and represent clients at various types of hearings.

CARPLS
Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services
17 N. State Street, Suite 1850
Chicago, Illinois 60602

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 through Self-Help Projects, which include written and web-based pro se and client education materials, and our court-based advice desks, which prepare clients to represent themselves on pro se matters.

CARPLS' services are provided by both staff attorneys and volunteers. We will train PILI Fellows in three substantive legal areas (consumer/bankruptcy, landlord/tenant and divorce law) and have the Fellows join our hotline staff in advising clients over the telephone under supervision. In addition, we will train the PILI Fellows to assist in staffing our Domestic Relations Advice Desk, our post judgment Collections Desk, and our Municipal Court Advice Desk. Fellows will also assist in researching and drafting self-help materials, drafting pleadings for pro se litigants, and assisting with special projects and other research projects.

The mission of Catholic Charities Legal Assistance (CCLA) is to provide access to compassionate and competent legal assistance to the economically disadvantaged in the Chicago area. CCLA has four full-time staff attorneys and numerous volunteer attorneys and paralegals who receive requests for assistance in a variety of areas of the law including, but not limited to, family law, housing, consumer and immigration. CCLA operates a legal aid hotline through which we offer legal advice, access to a network of pro bono attorneys or referrals to appropriate legal aid organizations. CCLA provides representation in Orders of Protection and other family law matters to immigrant victims of domestic violence or other violent crimes. CCLA also hosts educational seminars on legal topics geared toward the general public at a variety of Catholic Charities’ locations. In addition, CCLA operates three monthly After Hours Legal Advice Desks at various Catholic Charities locations.

We will train PILI Fellows to provide legal advice and/or referrals to the program’s clients through the hotline and also through the After Hours Legal Advice Desks. Fellows will have opportunities to do legal research and drafting. Fellows will have the opportunity to assist the staff attorney who provides representation on Orders of Protection and other family law matters. CCLA encourages Fellows to accompany us to all continuing legal education programs, bar association meetings and Catholic Charities advisory board meetings to familiarize each Fellow with the program, the larger Catholic Charities operation, and with the larger legal aid community.

CENTER FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION
11 East Adams Street, Suite 500
Chicago, IL 60603

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 2011, CCR’s 140 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 manage mediation referrals as well as mediate cases directly. The Fellow would report to the Mediation Services Director 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.

CENTER FOR DISABILITY AND ELDER LAW (CDEL)
79 West Monroe Street, Suite 919
Chicago, Illinois 60603

The Center for Disability & 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 many practice areas, including estate planning, housing, consumer claims and dissolution of marriage.

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, provide direct legal services to these most worthy individuals 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, Legal Director, Associate Director, staff attorneys and may work with CDEL volunteer attorneys. Opportunities for service include: conducting client intakes, performing research for CDEL programs and practice areas, case management and direct client representation (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. CDEL with assist eligible law students to obtain their 711 licenses. Strong written and communications and computer skills are a must.

CENTER FOR ECONOMIC PROGRESS
29 E. Madison Street, Suite 900
Chicago, Illinois 60602

The Center for Economic Progress (CEP) helps hard-working, low-income families move from financial uncertainty to financial security. Through our Tax Clinic, we provide free legal representation to low-wage taxpayers facing tax disputes with the IRS and the Illinois Department of Revenue, if associated with an IRS dispute. We also offer tax training for the self-employed and small businesses, such as childcare providers, to establish sound business practices; we help them to build their knowledge of record keeping and self-employment tax laws. Since 2000, CEP’s Tax Clinic has helped over 3000 low-income individuals and families through direct representation and brief advice. In 2011, we assisted 137 clients and saved taxpayers over $450,000 in federal tax liabilities.

The PILI Fellow would be critical to supporting essential services out of our tax clinic. The Fellow would assist Tax Clinic clients with issues related to collections, audits, innocent spouse claims and employee versus independent contractor disputes, among others. Fellows do not necessarily need previous tax controversy experience to handle a case. The Tax Clinic Director will provide training, guidance and ongoing support on any unfamiliar issues. Each Fellow will have one-on-one case review with the Director. Upon beginning their Fellowship, the Director will organize regular weekly meetings to review cases and provide feedback to the Fellow.

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, formerly 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.

THE CHICAGO APPLESEED FUND FOR JUSTICE
750 North Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60611

Chicago Appleseed is a social impact research and advocacy organization which uses multidisciplinary research to identify community injustices, and to develop and advocate for practical solutions. We focus on the areas of Criminal Justice Reform, Judicial and Lawyer Ethics, Immigration Court Reform, and Family Law.

Programs:
Criminal Justice Reform: Advocating for substantial changes in the court system which will allow the diverting of thousands of non-violent offenders into drug and mental health treatment programs and out of costly jail cells. Working closely with the Cook County Justice Advisory Council, we are researching justice system innovations and their potential applications in Cook County. In June 2012 we released our report, Strategies to Enhance and Coordinate Cook County Diversion Programs.

Judicial and Lawyer Ethics: Established the Center for Judicial Performance and Integrity (Center). Within the Center is the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County, which uses judicial evaluations to help improve the quality of the judiciary through research-based reports, judicial performance improvement plans, and court watching. The Center also focuses on making judicial campaign contributions more transparent, and on making judicial recusal standards more rigorous when judges have received substantial campaign contributions from the lawyers or litigants appearing before them.

Immigration Court Reform: In collaboration with National Appleseed, the Appleseed Network of Justice Centers, and national law firms Akin Gump and Latham & Watkins, Chicago Appleseed produced major reports, Congressional testimony, and advocacy materials detailing recommendations that will make the immigration court system fairer and more efficient. In 2012, we released our latest report, Reimagining the Immigration Court Assembly Line: Transformative Change for the Immigration Justice System.

Family law: Working to make the Illinois child support system more efficient and effective. Projects are underway to identify proposed innovations and review existing improvements to ensure that the court treats fairly and equally both marital and non-marital children.

We are seeking assistance in the preparation of Policy Briefs – research and advocacy papers that explore current trends in public policy. In particular, Chicago Appleseed policy briefs investigate and propose policy innovations with potential to improve Chicago, Cook County, and/or Illinois courts and legal systems. Chicago Appleseed then advocates for the implementation of these innovations.

CHICAGO-KENT COLLEGE OF LAW
Illinois Institute of Technology Law Offices
565 West Adams Street, Suite 600

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; and one attorney focuses on immigration and naturalization issues.

CHICAGO LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW, INC.
100 North LaSalle Street, Suite 600
Chicago, Illinois 60602

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 attorneys, with PILI Fellows, engage in both litigation and community advocacy in four substantive areas:

PILI Fellows will be engaged in assignments requiring legal research, conducting intake interviews and attending meetings with other advocacy and community organizations, and any other activities in which Committee lawyers are engaged. PILI Fellows working in the first three projects may attend court hearings and depositions, draft memos, motions and briefs. PILI Fellows working in The Law Project will have the opportunity to provide legal assistance to an organization, business or first-time home buyer. The goal with each 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.

CHICAGO LEGAL ADVOCACY FOR INCARCERATED MOTHERS (CLAIM)
70 East Lake Street, Suite 1120
Chicago, IL 60601-5959
Contact: Alexis Mansfield, Pro Bono Director/Staff Attorney
Phone: 312-675-0912 ext. 15
Website: www.claim-il.org

CLAIM is a nonprofit agency that advises and represents incarcerated or formerly incarcerated mothers at hearings on child custody, guardianship, and mother-child visitation. They also represent guardians of children in the Probate Division with the consent of the mothers. The attorneys at CLAIM meet with incarcerated women at Cook County Department of Corrections and do a thorough intake interview with each client. We then decide whether to represent the client, negotiate or draft legal documents for the client, or simply provide legal advice. CLAIM attorneys also teach a monthly class on family law to women at the Cook County Department of Corrections. We travel to Dwight, Lincoln and Decatur correctional centers, and Fox Valley work release center, to teach classes and meet with clients as well.

The PILI fellow can expect to conduct client interviews in the office, at Cook County Department of Corrections, and to take trips to Dwight, Decatur, and Lincoln to meet with incarcerated women at those facilities. The PILI fellow will also have opportunities to draft paperwork, appear in court on behalf of clients, help conduct training sessions for volunteers, and assist in know your rights presentations to incarcerated women and their family members. The PILI fellow will also have the opportunity to work on advocacy for incarcerated mothers to create community-based sentencing programs in Illinois, address the issue of mass incarceration, and to work toward ending shackling of pregnant women during labor at Cook County Jail.

Application: Please send a resume and brief cover letter by email or contact Alexis Mansfield by phone.

		South Chicago Office 2938 East 91st Street Chicago, Illinois 60617		Austin Office 118 North Central Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60644
		Pilsen Office 1914 South Ashland Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60608		Downtown Office 211 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 750 Chicago, IL 60606

Founded in 1981, the Chicago Legal Clinic, Inc. provides low-cost and free legal services to disadvantaged individuals in the Chicago region. The Clinic’s four offices are located in the communities of South Chicago, Downtown, Pilsen, and Austin. Attorneys provide representation in several areas of law including: social security disability claims, collection defense, landlord/tenant, family law (divorce, child support, visitation, and assistance to victims of domestic violence), guardianships of disabled adults, immigration, and ex-offender advocacy.

Additionally, Clinic attorneys supervise the Chancery Advice Desk located at the Richard J. Daley Center and the Municipal Pro Bono Program located at our Downtown Office.

PILI Fellows work directly with attorneys and research legal issues, draft legal documents, including pleadings and motions, draft correspondence, communicate with clients, and appear in court pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 711.

CHICAGO VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES FOUNDATION
100 North LaSalle Street, Suite 900
Chicago, Illinois 60602

With more than 44 years of experience, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) is the first and pre-eminent pro bono civil legal aid provider in Chicago. With its pool of nearly 2,500 volunteer attorneys, CVLS is unique in its ability to offer a wide range of totally free civil legal aid to the poor and working poor on an individual basis. Leading the way in litigation, family law and guardianship, it is recognized as the most comprehensive, most efficient and most cost-effective civil legal aid provider in Chicago. To ensure its long-standing commitment to equal access to justice will endure, CVLS actively seeks volunteer attorneys to join in their programs, providing them with support, training and the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of civil legal matters. CVLS also reaches out to the community with 20 clinics that bring its dedication and expertise to benefit the lives of many.

With the oversight of staff attorneys, PILI 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 Fellow will be given his/her own client caseload. Those Fellows 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.

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 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.

Juvenile Division
Attorneys in the Office of the Public Guardian's Juvenile Division represent over 6,000 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 150 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 be involved in hearings for the termination of parental rights. The children range in age from infants to 21-year-olds.

Other assignments may include drafting complaints, motions, and other pleadings; writing 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.

Adult Guardianship Division
The Adult Guardianship Division serves as guardian for approximately 800 adults with disabilities who need a guardian but who have no appropriate family or significant others to act as guardian. Most of the Office’s wards are elderly with an age-related dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, although the Office also serves a significant number of younger adults with cognitive impairments. As guardian, the Office is responsible for making decisions on behalf of our wards in all areas of their life including medical care, end-of-life issues, placement, and financial and legal decisions. Fellows with Rule 711 licenses appear on behalf of our wards to address diverse matters in various divisions of the Circuit Court. For example, in addition to their guardianship cases in probate court, wards may have issues in housing court, mental health court, domestic relations, or criminal court. Fellows are also likely to work on financial exploitation recovery litigation. Other assignments might include legal research, writing memoranda and legal pleadings, and attending inspections and inventories of ward properties.

LAW OFFICE OF THE COOK COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER
69 West Washington, 16th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60602

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 second largest unified court system in the world. The staff includes over 400 hundred attorneys, over a 100 support staff, and 68 investigators staff.

The Law Office was established in 1930 and is currently organized into the following divisions: Felony Trial, Forensic Science, Homicide Task Force, Civil (Child Protection and Mental health), Juvenile Justice, Legal Resources (Appeals and Post-Convictions), First Municipal (Misdemeanor, Traffic, and Domestic Advocacy), and Multiple Defendants. In addition, there are five suburban municipal districts, located in Bridgeview, Markham, Maywood, Rolling Meadows, and Skokie.

Fellows may assist attorneys in trial preparation, legal research, client review sessions, discovery conferences, investigations, witness preparation, drafting pre-trial and post-trial motions, and motion hearings.

CAIR-Chicago is a local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR is the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization and was established to promote an accurate image of Islam and Muslims in America. CAIR-Chicago’s mission is to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote tolerance. The 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 to freely practice their religion and be treated in a non-discriminatory manner.

In addition to pursuing individual complaints of religious discrimination reported to CAIR-Chicago, the Civil Rights Department has implemented several ongoing special projects that target important issues in the diverse Muslim communities. The Citizenship Delay Project works to end the lengthy delays in the citizenship process for Muslims applying for U.S. citizenship. The Employment Discrimination Project assists Muslims facing religious discrimination in 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 discriminatory treatment by law enforcement. The FBI Project assists individuals contacted by FBI agents, fully protecting their constitutional rights when being questioned. The Prison Project secures the rights of Muslim inmates to practice their religion freely as well as seeks to ensure that inmates are treated humanely.

Fellows will work closely with CAIR-Chicago’s Litigation Director and Staff Attorney 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.

DePAUL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW CLINICAL PROGRAMS
14 East Jackson Blvd., Suite 100
Chicago, Illinois 60604-2287

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 or the death penalty. 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.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEGAL CLINIC (DVLC)
(formerly Pro Bono Advocates)
555 West Harrison, Suite 1900
Chicago, Illinois 60606

DVLC is a civil legal services clinic designed to provide assistance in obtaining orders of protection. We also represent married clients in divorce cases. 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.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWEST
35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 1600
Chicago, Illinois 60601

The Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), the Midwest's leading public interest environmental advocacy and eco-business innovation organization, seeks to hire PILI Fellows. Our 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 and climate change by supporting energy efficiency and renewable resource alternatives to coal and nuclear 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, especially with respect to water and forests. One of ELPC's premises is that environmental progress and economic development can be achieved together. ELPC's multidisciplinary professional staff includes attorneys, M.B.A.'s, public policy advocates, and communications specialists. ELPC was established in 1993.

Responsibilities: PILI 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. Fellows also may attend meetings with state and federal agencies, legislators and concerned citizens, and participate in depositions and other litigation activities. 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 by February, we encourage application through PILI as early as possible in the Fall. Please, no telephone inquiries.

EQUIP FOR EQUALITY
20 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 300
Chicago, Illinois 60602

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 five substantive priority areas of Equip for Equality are discrimination, community integration, safety from abuse and neglect, special education 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, 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. Fellows are assigned to ongoing cases and have the opportunity to participate and observe all stages of litigation.

The Family Defense Center (“FDC “) is a first-of-its-kind legal advocacy organization focused on reform of child protection systems (e.g., the Department of Children and Family Services, juvenile court). Its mission is to advocate justice for families in the child welfare system. As a child protective services legal “watchdog” group that takes the goal of family preservation and family reunification seriously, FDC aims for fundamental changes in a massive system that often destroys families and hurts children more than it helps them. The FDC employs the strategies of litigation, policy advocacy, legal and policy research, training, public education and individualized advice and consultation with families involved in state, local or federal child protection systems (including child protection investigations, juvenile court actions, and child welfare service delivery systems), to prevent the unnecessary removal of children from their own homes and to facilitate the return of children to their homes whenever possible.

The following are our current advocacy programs:
(A) Affirmative civil rights litigation: We seek to vindicate the rights of families who have their children taken wrongfully or have been denied due process in pursued of their careers due to wrongful indicated findings. Law firms co-counsel these cases and have won awards for this important work.
(B) Pro bono program and individual case handling: advice, referrals, consultation and representation in all phases of DCFS investigations. The FDC represents individuals in the DCFS investigation stage ranging from brief advice and consultation, to full representation in lengthy trial-type expungement hearings and Administrative Review Actions. These cases are particular interesting for new lawyers and interns because they have quick time frames for completion and can provide full trials within a summer period. We work closely with participating major law firms in referring some of our low income clients to them for representation.
(C) The Parent Empowerment program: a grass-roots advocacy group, this includes parents who have been personally impacted by DCFS practices. Parents work on advocacy projects and are involved in speaking about their experiences to build public support for the reforms we advocate; program includes National Reunification Day program.
(D) Legislative Advocacy: We engage in advocacy for legislative and rule changes to child welfare laws and policies.
(E) The Family Defender Newsletter is a policy, research and advocacy tool, reporting on developments in the child welfare system affecting families, both positively and negatively, and includes advocacy information as well as policy positions of the organization
(F) Training programs, training materials, and self-help materials are in development. The FDC is working on manual on how families can respond most effectively to DCFS investigations and a manual on how to handle pro se expungement appeals.

PILI Fellows at the Family Defense Center are expected to: (a) handle initial client screening and follow-up; (b) investigate the merits of child protection cases; (c) work on one legislative initiative (d) draft and file motions; (d) conduct extensive legal research, including research in the areas of juvenile law, administrative law, civil procedure and constitutional law.; (e) if 711 certified, take a leading role at DCFS administrative hearings and on routine motion calls in court (arguing routine motions, second chairing substantive motions); (f) write at least one article for The Family Defender (see www.familydefensecenter.net, press newsletter for examples; (g) participate in staff meetings and organizational events; and (h) support the mission of the Family Defense Center (advocating justice for families in the child welfare system) and contributing to the overall advocacy program of the FDC (by, for example, publicizing our programs to other law students, applying any special skills the intern/exten has to assist our program to flourish).

FEDERAL DEFENDER PROGRAM
55 East Monroe Street, Suite 2800
Chicago, Illinois 60603

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.

205 West Randolph Street, Suite 510
Chicago, Illinois 60606-5013
312-223-9600 Fax: 312-223-9518

HDA works on a variety of policy and advocacy issues to assist low-income children and adults with disabilities and help ensure access to income supports, educational supports and health care for vulnerable populations. Our medical legal partnerships including the Chicago Medical Legal Partnership for Children (CMLPC) and SSI Homeless Project are legal partnerships with medical providers serving vulnerable populations with significant health challenges with the ultimate goal of improving their access to a full-range of social, developmental, medical and legal services and supports and removing systemic barriers. Our projects combine policy and advocacy efforts, serving as an incubator for health policy development for low-income children with significant health care needs.

PILI Fellows will also have an opportunity to work on HDA’s other policy and litigation initiatives including our Illinois Connections: Veterans and Military Families 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.

ILLINOIS GUARDIANSHIP & ADVOCACY COMMISSION
160 North La Salle Street, Suite 5-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Veronique Baker, Director of Legal Advocacy Service
312-793-5900 Fax: 312-793-4311
Website: http://gac.state.il.us/las/

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 and Attorneys working through the Extended Placement Program will have the opportunity to work with the Legal Advocacy Service (LAS).

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: I) 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 substantiated 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 participants will provide research and case preparation assistance to the LAS staff attorneys appointed to handle the mental health cases in court. Prior LAS volunteers have conducted research, handled involuntary civil commitment and treatment hearings, participated in mental health law educational trainings and provide information to persons in treatment facilities who have questions about their legal rights.

As a PILI Fellow, a law graduate has the opportunity to learn about the legal aid community and to explore legal issues affecting low-income individuals. Fellows receive training on writing for a pro se audience and exposure to technology tools that serve as an alternative means of delivering legal assistance to the public. Fellows assist in the development and maintenance of ILAO’s web resources; including text information, legal forms, and multimedia presentations.

INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE CLINIC ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP
University of Chicago Law School
6020 South University
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Contact: Beth Milnikel Kregor
773-834-3108

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. In addition, the IJ Clinic engages in advocacy for legislative reform on behalf of entrepreneurs.

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 negotiating a storefront lease, to advising a client on the protectibility of the business's name. Fellows may also get involved in efforts to analyze and re-draft regulations that hinder many entrepreneurs. 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.

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW INSTITUTE
DePaul University College of Law
25 East Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois 60604-2287

The International Human Rights Law Institute is dedicated to developing and promoting international human rights and the rule of law through education, research, outreach, and capacity building. Illustrative recent Institute activities include an Indigenous Rights Project in Latin America including clinical work; capacity building and research for the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights; 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 legal education reform project, an NGO project, and a women’s mentorship project in Iraq.

PILI Fellows may expect to assist in research and/or capacity building projects depending on the Institute's current docket.

Contact: Kathleen Lyons , Executive Director
1123 Emerson Street, Suite 203
Evanston, IL 60201

The James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy provides integrated legal and social work services to low-income Evanston youth (21 and younger) and their families to improve their quality of life at home, at school and within the community. Our practice focuses on juvenile delinquency, adult misdemeanor and felony, expungement and sealing and school discipline matters.

PILI Fellows will work closely with staff attorneys on juvenile delinquency, adult misdemeanor and felony, expungement and sealing and school discipline matters. Fellows will provide case management, interview witnesses, conduct legal research, assist with plea bargains, prepare mitigation reports, and will have the opportunity to participate in criminal bench and jury trials including examining witnesses and/or presenting opening statements. Fellows will also assist staff at our expungement and sealing help desk at the Skokie Courthouse and may be asked to assist with trainings on legal rights and responsibilities to high-school aged youth. 711 law license required and travel to and from Evanston and the Skokie Courthouse are required.

Founded in 1901, JHA is Illinois’ only non-partisan prison watchdog. Our mission is to achieve a fair, humane, and cost-effective criminal justice system by promoting adult and juvenile prison reform, leading to successful re-integration and enhanced community safety.

Through our longstanding Prison Monitoring Project and Juvenile Justice Project, JHA staff and trained volunteers regularly tour all facilities in the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. During these tours, monitors are able to observe the challenges faced by both inmates and correctional staff and ensure that policies are implemented in a way that promotes public safety.

Following each visit, JHA issues a written report that focuses on critical matters such as education, medical and mental health care, disciplinary procedures for youth and adults, and the physical condition of the facilities. These widely disseminated reports are read by everyone from lawyers to legislators, wardens to reformers, members of the Governor’s office to members of the public at large; they provide essential transparency and oversight to an otherwise overlooked institution and drive safe and cost-effective criminal justice reform.

PILI Fellows can expect to help JHA program staff with visiting juvenile and adult facilities, writing policy reports, and researching criminal justice trends and best practices.

JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL FAIR HOUSING CLINIC
55 East Jackson Blvd., Suite 1020
Chicago, Illinois 60604

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 Professors 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 in different jurisdictions.

LAF handles a wide spectrum of civil cases on matters of core social and economic importance. Case handlers work in one of five practice groups: Consumer, Family, Housing, Immigrant and Workers' Rights, and Public Benefits. Cross-cutting task forces also help us to focus on such areas as HIV/AIDS, veterans' rights, and civil rights. In addition, our Centralized Screening Unit does intake for the practices groups and provides targeted advice and referrals. Finally, our Community Engagement Unit conducts educational outreach and trainings throughout Cook County. Summer internships will be available in each of these groups. LAF's size and diversity usually allow us to match the interests of PILI Fellows with a desired area of the law.

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil right of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV, 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 HIV-related treatments; child custody, visitation and adoption; and sodomy law reform. The Midwest Regional Office has three attorneys. Fellows work closely with the staff on developing and litigating matters.

LAND OF LINCOLN LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION, INC.
Various Locations: Champaign, Springfield, Alton, East St. Louis and Carbondale

Through its five regional offices (Champaign, Springfield, Alton, East St. Louis and Carbondale), Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation's lawyers provide a full range of civil legal assistance to low-income residents of 65 counties in central and southern Illinois, including providing advice and counsel, litigation, and community education.

Land of Lincoln’s office locations and wide range of services and projects provide the opportunity to match the interest of a PILI Fellow with a particular office or area of the law. Types of cases include those involving consumer issues, public benefits, housing issues, rights of the homeless, family law, domestic violence, education, and senior legal services. Duties include legal and policy research, drafting pleadings and legal memoranda, negotiating settlements and handling court appearances pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711.

(f/k/a Community Development Law Project)
100 North La Salle Street, Suite 600
Chicago, Illinois 60602

The Law Project (TLP) 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. Through its work with these organizations, other programs have emerged including one that focuses on new entrepreneurs and another that provides representation to first-time, low-income home buyers. The majority of the work is done through its panel of volunteers composed generally of attorneys from Chicago’s law firms. Typically, TLP clients need assistance with securing tax exempt status, selecting an 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.

PILI Fellows conduct client interviews, do client follow-up, visit community organizations, draft tax exemption applications, by-laws, and articles of incorporation, and work with small business and home ownership clients. Fellows may also write articles for TLP’s newsletter or research legal issues specific to Illinois Nonprofit Corporations.

LAW PROJECT OF THE CHICAGO COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS
70 East Lake Street, Suite 700

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 interested in any personal experience of the candidate with poverty or injustice.

PILI 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 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 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
100 West Monroe, Suite 1800
Chicago, Illinois 60603

The Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing (LCBH) believes that every individual and family is entitled to decent housing as a basic need and human right. LCBH promotes the rights of tenants to safe, accessible, and affordable housing on a non-discriminatory basis through education, outreach, supportive services, advocacy, and legal representation. LCBH has been providing legal services to low-income renters in Chicago for over 31 years. A PILI Fellowship with LCBH offers recent graduates the opportunity to provide valuable services for families in crisis while learning and honing legal skills. LCBH provides in-depth training and legal supervision to create a meaningful experience for each intern or fellow. Students with valid 711 licenses will have opportunities to litigate on behalf of LCBH clients. Other opportunities include researching legal and policy matters, drafting pleadings and legal memoranda, negotiating settlements, and working with clients on pre-litigation matters. In 2011, LCBH volunteer attorneys, interns, and volunteer paralegals donated over $1,500,000.00 in legal services to LCBH tenant client families.

LAWYERS FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS
213 West Institute Place, Suite 403
Chicago, Illinois 60610

Lawyers for the Creative Arts (LCA) is a not-for-profit organization that provides legal assistance and education to artists and arts organizations of all kinds, the visual, performing, entertainment, and literary throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. LCA has two attorneys on staff who represent clients in-house and who manage a volunteer attorney referral program. Most matters are referred to LCA’s hundreds of volunteer attorneys, but much work is handled in-house.

LCA provides legal assistance to clients across all disciplines of the art and entertainment fields. Clients are individuals and both for profit and not-for-profit businesses that need assistance with a range of contract, corporate, intellectual property, tax, and real estate matters as well as all manner of disputes and litigation. PILI Fellows will be involved in interviewing clients, researching case law, and assisting LCA’s staff attorneys and volunteers. Fellows will also assist in the pro bono referral program and contribute to the researching, writing and editing of various contracts, licenses, intellectual property forms, and educational materials. PILI Fellows will help to personally assist clients and be exposed to sophisticated and cutting edge issues in copyright law. PILI fellows are closely supervised and mentored by our in-house, experienced attorneys. Course work and experience in copyright, trademark and art or entertainment law is preferred.

LEGAL AID SOCIETY
Metropolitan Family Services
One North Dearborn, 10th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60602

The Legal Aid Society was established in 1886 and works with its seven social service centers to bring a variety of legal services to Chicago's most vulnerable citizens in the communities where they live. The Domestic Violence Team focuses on issues related to family law, including domestic violence, divorce, and child custody and support issues. The Elder Law Team focuses on elder abuse and financial exploitation of senior citizens. The Poverty Law Project represents clients in landlord/tenant and consumer cases. All Fellows would work out of our downtown office.

Volunteers and Fellows are critical in assisting LAS' attorneys in client advice and representation. A PILI Fellow will have a wide range of litigation exposure, including client interviewing and counseling, negotiation, research and drafting pleadings, and court representation (if 711-licensed).

LIFE SPAN CENTER FOR LEGAL SERVICES AND ADVOCACY
70 East Lake Street, Suite 700

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.

LOYOLA SCHOOL OF LAW LEGAL CLINICS
25 E. Pearson Street, Suite 1317
Chicago, Illinois 60611

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 requirements, business licenses and permits, and applications for tax-exempt status. The Clinic does not handle litigation matters.

The Federal Income Tax Clinic represents low-income individuals who are seeking legal assistance concerning a dispute or potential dispute with the Internal Revenue Service. Fellows typically work with several clients during the course of a summer, under the supervision of the director. The work involves direct representation of an individual before the Internal Revenue Service and may involve preparation of a case docketed before the U.S. Tax Court. The Clinic is controversy orientated and does not generally prepare tax returns.

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.

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, such 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.

EDWIN F. MANDEL LEGAL AID CLINIC
6020 South University
Chicago, Illinois 60637

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.

MEXICAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND
11 East Adams, Suite 700
Chicago, Illinois 60603

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is a national Latino civil rights advocacy organization dedicated to preserving and expanding civil rights of Latinos in the areas of immigrant rights, education, political access, employment and public resource equity.

PILI Fellows/Law Student Interns will work on high impact matters concerning immigrant rights, education, political access, employment and public resource equity. MALDEF deals with cases which have the greatest impact on the Latino community.

PILI Fellows will get experience researching and analyzing constitutional and statutory claims at both the federal and state levels in pending and potential high impact cases, developing strategies for successful litigation, and when needed contacting clients and preparing pleadings.

Applicants note: Spanish-speaking ability or knowledge of the Spanish language is NOT required.

(formerly Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center)
208 South La Salle Street, Suite 1818
Chicago, Illinois 60604

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 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. Fellows 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
Northwestern University School of Law
357 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611

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 matters, entrepreneurship/economic development issues, and 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.

PRAIRIE STATE LEGAL SERVICES, INC.
Suburban Chicago Office Locations: Joliet, Kankakee, St. Charles, Waukegan, Wheaton, Woodstock
Other Illinois Office Locations: Bloomington, Galesburg, Ottawa, Peoria, Rockford, Rock Island
Contact: Linda Rothnagel, Director of Advocacy Training
Phone: 630-232-9415 Fax: 630-232-9420
Website: www.pslegal.org

Prairie State Legal Services is the civil legal services provider in 36 counties in northern and central Illinois. In almost all of those counties, Prairie State is the only source of civil legal aid for low-income, elderly and disabled residents. Prairie State provides excellent opportunities for fellows to perform meaningful work and gain valuable experience by assisting clients who need legal help to address basic needs issues. Prairie State has 12 local offices, all of which are possible locations for a fellowship.

PSLS represents clients in a variety of substantive areas of law including housing, disabilities, utilities, public benefits, health, consumer, family, and domestic violence. PSLS also has a tax clinic through which it provides advice and representation to low income individuals in tax controversies. Opportunities are available for potential fellows interested in Prairie State’s general work as well as for potential fellows interested in concentrating their work with the tax clinic. Attorneys represent clients before administrative agencies, and at the trial and appellate levels in both state and federal court. Prairie State staff members are actively involved in the communities they serve and work closely with social service providers and others to address issues facing low-income, elderly and disabled persons. The program values creative and collaborative approaches to solving problems. Community education is an important component of the program’s work, as one way to maximize the program’s impact in a large geographic area.

of the AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF ILLINOIS, Inc.
180 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2300
Chicago, Illinois 60601-1287

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.

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
50 East Washington, Suite 500
Chicago, Illinois 60602

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law provides free legal representation to low-income persons and groups in Illinois on a wide range of public policy issues. The Shriver Center represents clients before legislative bodies and administrative agencies, in class actions, and in individual cases with broader policy implications. Some of our main public policy areas include public benefits, health care, employment, housing, asset opportunity, criminal background, budget and tax, domestic violence and child support.

PILI Fellows can expect to do primarily legal research and writing and other public policy research and writing in support of the Shriver Center’s policy and litigation work. Interns often participate in writing substantive articles for Clearinghouse Review, the Center's bimonthly journal of poverty law and policy; WomanView, a periodic newsletter of our Women’s Law and Policy project on issues affecting low-income women and girls; and the Shriver Brief, our blog. PILI Fellows can also expect to participate in behind-the-scenes meetings with coalition partners and decision-makers and to gain a greater understanding of how public policy is made.

Working Hands Legal Clinic
401 S. LaSalle St, Suite 1400
Chicago, Illinois 60605

Working Hands Legal Clinic (WHLC) is a joint project of three Chicago area community-based workers’ centers: the Chicago Workers’ Collaborative (CWC); the San Lucas Workers’ Center (SLWC); and the Latino Union (LU). These three workers’ centers provide assistance to low-wage workers, CWC and SLWC to day laborers in the temporary staffing industry, and Latino Union to street-corner day laborers. Together these organizations have worked to pass state legislation providing some of the country’s strongest protections for day laborers. WHLC and the workers’ centers are also actively involved in issues affecting low-wage immigrant workers such as abuse of employment eligibility verification systems and Social Security no-match letters.

Like the workers’ centers, WHLC operates on the principle that social change occurs through leadership development in the communities most affected by workplace abuses. Since its founding in 2004, WHLC has helped to provide workplace rights training to over 100 leaders and, working with these leaders, has assisted day laborers in recovering over $2.5 million in owed wages. Beginning in summer 2008, WHLC began a partnership with the Mexican Consulate office in Chicago to provide information and training to Mexican nationals in the defense of their rights in the workplace, in the event of workplace raids or in the event of terminations based on Social Security no-match letters.

The PILI Fellow will work under the supervision of WHLC Director in the following areas:

The mission of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights 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, and 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. The children and youth are caught at the borders and at the airports, and then sent to detention facilities throughout the country where their stay can range from a month to a couple of years; there are six such facilities in the Chicago area.

The Young Center is working to develop a national network of Child Advocates (guardians ad litem in immigration proceedings) 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 will include research on repatriation of children to Central America, India and China and application of the best interests principle for immigrant children in other countries.

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 Young Center’s objective is to provide participants with a challenging learning experience, while obtaining high quality work product in order to fulfill the Young Center’s goal of ensuring the best interest of unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States. Moderate fluency in Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi or Gujarati is preferred.