The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice (ATJ Commission) works to make the Illinois court system more accessible, equitable, and responsive to the needs of court users. State courts are where most people interact with the justice system and where matters affecting their homes, families, safety, and finances are decided. The Commission leads and supports statewide initiatives involving self-represented litigants, standardized court forms, language access, disability access, technology, community trust and engagement, and other efforts to reduce barriers to the courts.

An important component of this work is Illinois Court Help (ILCH), a statewide court information service that connects court users with trained Court Guides who provide information about court processes, court forms, procedural steps, and available legal and community resources. Through these interactions, Illinois Court Help also provides insight into the challenges people experience when navigating the court system.

The Law Student Internship

The internship combines work with Illinois Court Help and work on the broader statewide initiatives of the ATJ Commission, giving students experience with access to justice from both a court-user and system-wide perspective.

Through Illinois Court Help, interns will work alongside Court Guides and gain firsthand experience with the questions and challenges people face when navigating the court system without an attorney. Interns will encounter a broad range of court processes and legal issues while developing their ability to identify legal information, explain court procedures clearly, and connect people with appropriate court, legal, and community resources.

Through the Commission’s statewide initiatives, interns will work with attorneys in the Access to Justice Division of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts on projects aimed at improving how Illinois courts serve the public. Depending on current projects and priorities, this work may include:

• Conducting legal and policy research and preparing memoranda;
• Contributing to initiatives involving court forms, language and disability access, technology, self-represented litigants, and community trust;
• Assisting with ATJ Commission and committee work, including research related to proposed policies or Supreme Court Rules; and
• Drafting or reviewing resources designed to make court procedures more understandable and accessible.

Together, these experiences allow interns to connect the experiences of individual court users with the development of statewide court policies, programs, and resources. Students gain insight into both how people navigate the justice system in practice and how the Judicial Branch works to address systemic barriers to access.

The ATJ Commission values demographic and experiential diversity and recognizes the importance of bringing a broad range of perspectives to its work.

This agency is approved to host a Law Student Intern during the summer.