Jonathan Rhodes

Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2L

Citizen Advocacy Center

My decision to pursue a law degree was part of my larger commitment to building a career in public service. Having interned with government entities in the past, I was excited to work with the Citizen Advocacy Center to gain insight from the citizens’ perspective. My summer monitoring local government and working directly with community members has greatly increased my understanding of the democratic process and the various ways in which lawyers can serve as advocates for the public interest.

One of the most common ways the CAC serves citizens is by providing research and guidance on issues in municipal government, legislation, and election law. For example, a program director at the Morton Arboretum contacted the CAC for assistance in advocating for tree preservation programs in the region. I researched and drafted model legislation for establishing tree commissions in Illinois, which can serve as a resource for the Arboretum’s advocacy and an organizing tool for citizen groups working with local government to build community tree programs. The CAC also conducts research projects, such as our comprehensive “Rule of Three” survey. This Illinois Election Code rule limits the number of public questions that may be placed on a ballot to three per election, and allows government bodies to preempt citizen referenda by front-loading the ballot with three questions. This rule represents a direct challenge to everyday democracy by making it difficult for citizens to get their public questions placed on the ballot. Through Freedom of Information Act requests, we were able to identify examples of government bodies in Illinois blocking citizen questions from the ballot, and submitted our findings and recommendations for reform to the DuPage County Bar Association’s Law Journal.

I also had the unique opportunity to work with a group of concerned citizens in Markham, who contacted the CAC to discuss a neighborhood public safety issue. This was an opportunity to organize the community and assist them in working with their elected officials to solve problems. By forming a neighborhood watch and holding their local government officials accountable, the citizens addressed the crime problem and gained confidence in the abilities of their government.

I would not have been able to do this work without the financial support of a PILI grant. By connecting students with unique and engaging public interest opportunities, the PILI program represents an important moment in the careers of many law students. The regular PILI events and lunch programs were also highly beneficial, allowing me to network with other public interest lawyers and law students, as well as to learn about substantive issue areas outside of the work I did this summer. This summer experience will certainly inform my practice as an attorney. I have learned how non-traditional advocacy, such as community organizing and collaboration with elected officials, can have a real impact on issues. The CAC takes a view of the law, and of citizens, that I hope to continue in practice by encouraging participation rather than litigation, and building communities rather than adversaries.

Emily Meehan

DePaul University College of Law, 2L

AIDS Legal Council

After years of political activism, I decided that being a lawyer would allow me the ability to make real changes in people’s lives and our society using the exact same tools wielded by those in power. So, needless to say, public interest law has always been my intended area. What I had not anticipated, though, was that it would be so difficult to decide what area of public interest law I wanted to ultimately work. Fortunately, I have had two summer jobs that helped enormously. My position as an intern in a family law agency last summer taught me that I am not well-suited for the area of domestic violence and divorce, although I developed a great admiration for the attorneys doing that work.

This summer was a different experience, entirely. Almost as soon as I started my training at the AIDS Legal Council, I knew I would be happy doing this work. I have had a lot of personal experience that makes me especially interested in working with and for people suffering from HIV/AIDS, as well as pursuing policy changes in how our society treats gays and lesbians. So although I took this job knowing I liked what the agency did, it wasn’t until I got my hands “dirty” that I realized this was work I would enjoy doing, too. I met with clients, drafted social security appeals, did legal research on policy and regulations effecting people with AIDS, wrote legal correspondence, and participated in client intake meetings, all with the guidance and support of an incredible staff.

The PILI organization, too, helped make this a very influential summer. The attentiveness shown to me personally, as well as the really informative group luncheons, made me feel like I was an important and valuable addition to Chicago’s legal community, capable of making a real difference in the world.

Lauren Barker

University of Cincinnati, 2L

National Immigrant Justice Center

My PILI internship at the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) taught me a great deal about public interest law. I spent the majority of my time working with the General Immigrant Services and Violence Against Women programs at the NIJC. While working with the General Immigrant Services Program, I helped a child from Mexico---who had been adopted by her permanent resident grandparents---apply for lawful permanent residency. I researched the United States immigration laws pertaining to adopted children and I prepared an application to show that the child’s adoption complied with the United States adoption and immigration laws so the child could legally live in the United States.

Through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), I also helped two battered women apply for lawful permanent residency. The women were from Mexico and Burundi and they were both married to United States citizen husbands who abused them physically and emotionally throughout their marriages. Both husbands also refused to help their wives become lawful permanent residents of the United States, so the women lived in constant fear of abuse and deportation. Despite the hardships they suffered, both women were extremely sweet and excited about the prospect of finally acquiring legal status in the United States. The women talked to me at length about their lives and they supplied me with the documents I needed to prove that they qualified for lawful permanent residence status under the VAWA.

Although I enjoyed working with the general immigration services and VAWA programs, my work with unaccompanied immigrant children impacted me most profoundly. Each year, approximately 5,000 immigrant children who enter the United States illegally and without a parent or guardian are detained by the Department of Homeland Security. Many of the unaccompanied children come because they were abused, neglected, and persecuted in their countries of origin. Sadly, some of the children find themselves in terrible situations in the United States as well. I traveled with two of the NIJC attorneys to an out-of-state detention center where children were being held. I spent several hours talking to two boys from Central America. Both boys reported feeling extremely depressed at the facility and they stated that they spent the majority of the day locked in their individual cells without access to education, recreation, or books. The boys told me they were even prohibited from talking to the other detained children. We reported our troubling findings to the other lawyers at the NIJC. These lawyers are now working to improve the conditions at that detention facility and to develop a network of pro bono attorneys that can serve all of the detained immigrant children.

Erica Byrd

John Marshall Law School, 1L

Chicago Legal Clinic

My experience as a PILI intern at the South Chicago Legal Clinic was the most rewarding legal education that I have had during law school. Through my internship, I was able to help those less fortunate in my community obtain legal services that they are entitled to as Americans. In school, it is easy to forget that the reason the legal system is in place is to protect the everyday people of the community. My PILI internship has reminded me that as a lawyer, I have a responsibility to share my knowledge and skills with those in the community who need it to the most.

At the South Chicago Legal Clinic, I was exposed to many different types of cases. Every client I worked with was so grateful that someone was taking the time to sit down and talk to them about their problems. Clients were even more grateful when their problems could be solved and they could go about their normal lives again. I took great pride in helping the hardworking people of South Chicago receive the equal justice they deserve. My summer experiences collectively helped shape my legal education and career; and for that, I will be forever grateful.

Tim Brennan

Loyola University Chicago, 1L

Legal Assistance Foudnation of Metro Chicago

I worked in the Northwest neighborhood office of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (LAFMC), the largest provider of free civil legal services for poor people in the Midwest. Under the close and constructive supervision of an LAFMC staff attorney, I had the opportunity to work in such varied areas as family law, housing, and unemployment. I wrote research memos, drafted proposed judgments and appellate briefs, and represented a client in an unemployment insurance administrative hearing. I also acted as an advocate on behalf of clients facing termination of their utility services. I learned a great deal in a small amount of time this summer, and most importantly, provided some benefit for people in need.

I also benefited personally from attending PILI luncheons. While I was very busy this summer and could not attend each presentation, I certainly learned from those I did attend. In fact, one of the presentations made at the American Constitutional Society luncheon was so impressive that it inspired me to write my Law Journal article on a topic addressed in the presentation. In general, I appreciated the mix of luncheon presentations on substantive legal topics, along with presentations on career paths and practical legal tools.

Finally, one particular experience this summer impacted me in a way that aptly characterizes my PILI experience. I represented a single mother of one who had been fired from her job at a bank, and had come to us with no money and no source of income. The state had denied her application for unemployment benefits because it found she was terminated for “misconduct.” In fact, the client had made an honest mistake by grabbing the wrong work schedule, and had realized too late that she was supposed to have been at work at 7:00 a.m. one particular morning. I represented the client in a telephone hearing before an administrative law judge, where I performed a direct examination of the client and delivered a closing argument, citing case law. The judge reversed the state’s initial determination, and awarded unemployment benefits to the client. When I told the client the good news, her level of appreciation was overwhelming; she must have said “thank you” 25 times in our phone conversation. She will now receive benefits amounting to approximately 70% of her original income, so she can feed herself and her child until finding another job.

Experiences like this one made my PILI internship a success, and I greatly appreciate having had such an opportunity.

Carrie Stephenson Sanford, PILI Intern
DePaul University College of Law, 2L
Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing

Public interest work is hard. It is also incredibly rewarding. My experience as a PILI Intern with the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing has been gratifying; filled with both challenges and encouraging moments that have reaffirmed my commitment and dedication to public interest work. I have learned a tremendous amount about landlord-tenant law, Lawyers’ Committee specific area of practice, and have been able to use that knowledge to assist the low and middle income communities in Chicago.

My days at the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing were filled with meeting clients, drafting pleadings, participating in settlement negotiations, appearing in court, attending educational seminars, and creating a piece of policy research about the current conditions in Eviction Court. There was never a dull moment, let alone a dull day, and it was an invigorating way to spend my summer. I think what makes my internship even more unique was the opportunity it provided to work with housing tenants in the private market. I learned first-hand the tragic shortage of safe, affordable housing available to Chicago residents. At times I felt as if I was fighting a flood with a kitchen pail. However, I discovered that even when the only action we could do for our clients was stand beside them in court, or attempt negotiations with their landlord, our clients felt empowered by the experience.

There is simply nothing better than to receive a big hug in thanks from a client for a job well done. I am grateful to the Public Interest Law Initiative for providing me with this amazing summer.