ABOUT US

Pro-Bono's Effort and Results

How We Work

PBN partners with existing legal aid agencies to expand or adapt pro bono programs that will fit within the time constraints of stay-at-home parents.

To that end, any project the Network adopts must satisfy several essential criteria:

The agency must provide early morning training in Oak Park;
hours must be flexible and no required appearances after 2:00pm;
the time-frames must be discreet or allow the attorney to work for a short-time frame;
attorneys must be allowed to work in pairs to ensure back up when the inevitable sick-child situation arises; and
the agency must provide malpractice insurance.

We work closely with the legal aid agency to keep the project running smoothly for our volunteers. We assist with supervising, mentoring, administrative matters, troubleshooting, and ongoing training.

Results

Since its inception in early 2011, PBN has grown to more than 100 attorneys and 15 translators who have clocked more than 3000 volunteer hours.

Representation results (as of 3/30/2014) include:

30 victimized undocumented persons for legal residency;
100 seniors for powers of attorneys, wills, etc.;
50 low-income debtors for pre-court counseling;
10 domestic violence victims for emergency orders of protection;
200 children helped through representing 115 incarcerated mothers in securing guardianships, benefits,

In addition to representing hundreds of clients, we have partnered with existing agencies to expand their geographic coverage and add new programs. This outcome is due to the number of volunteers we have as well as the benefit of having attorneys outside of the downtown area.

And we have done all this without hiring a babysitter and while still being able to make school lunches, go to the park, chaperone class trips, and stay home with sick kids.