PILI’s mission is to engage, inspire and empower those advancing equal access to justice. In 2024, our theme has focused on how we empower. At PILI, we draw on all the resources of the Illinois legal community to fill in the gaps in the delivery of legal services. To do so, we empower law students, lawyers and legal professionals to advocate for others. And we empower our clients to advocate for themselves.
Here are some highlights of how we helped others be Empowered to Advocate in 2024:
PILI’s Law Student Internship and Graduate Fellowship Programs place law students and recent law school graduates at public interest law organizations. PILI provides funding for the work of our Interns as well as supplemental educational, networking and mentoring opportunities for both Interns and Fellows.
In the last year:
- 70 Law Student Interns worked 24,200 hours to help 1,542 clients
- 41 Graduate Fellows worked 12,300 hours to help 237 clients
In the coming year, we will grant $442,000 to fund 80 Law Student Interns at 33 public interest law agencies across Illinois in the coming year. For the 2024-2025 school-year, PILI will fund 24 Law Student Interns, 12 per semester for 200 hours with the school-year stipend set at $3,250. In Summer 2025 PILI will fund 56 Law Student Interns for 400 hours with the stipend set at $6,500.
“I’ve absolutely loved being able to connect with clients and get the experience of a practicing lawyer that I wouldn’t necessarily get from school. Being a PILI Intern has also allowed me to meet other public interest folks that share a passion for giving back to our communities.”
-2024 PILI Law Student Intern
Our Alumni Network builds and maintains the connection between past PILI Interns and Fellows and the public interest law community through educational, networking, leadership, and service opportunities. Over 5,000 PILI Law Student Interns and Graduate Fellows have gone on to join the legal profession. Through the PILI Alumni Network, they remain connected to public interest law and pro bono work. Our Alumni Network Leadership Council plans educational, networking, leadership and service opportunities throughout the year to empower Alumni to continue to serve and connect to the new classes of Interns and Fellows.
“The continued expansion of the Law Student Internship and Graduate Fellowship Programs means PILI’s Alumni Network is growing tremendously. It is exciting to think about the possibilities of a great network of lawyers with a commitment to public interest law and pro bono service and how impactful we can all be.”
-Jill E. Roberts, Chair, Alumni Network Leadership Council
Our Pro Bono Program works to increase the availability of pro bono legal help for those who cannot afford an attorney in Illinois by developing innovative pro bono opportunities, offering pro bono programming and resources, cultivating best practices, and celebrating the life-changing pro bono performed throughout the state.
In the last year:
- 287 clients received help from 310 PILI pro bono volunteers through clinics, help desks as well as limited and extended representation
- 661 attorneys attended CLEs sponsored or cosponsored by PILI
In 2024, PILI celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Pro Bono Initiative for the New Millennium. Our goal was to expand the amount and types of pro bono work being done by lawyers at both corporate legal departments and law firms. Now, our Pro Bono Program works to increase the availability of pro bono legal help for those who cannot afford an attorney in Illinois by developing innovative pro bono opportunities, offering pro bono programming and resources, cultivating best practices, and celebrating the life-changing pro bono performed throughout the state.
PILI also celebrated the Fifth Anniversary as State Administrator for Illinois Free Legal Answers. Since 2019, PILI has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of Illinois Free Legal Answers where clients post civil legal questions on a secure site for volunteer lawyers to provide advice.
- 249 Illinois Free Legal Answers volunteers answered 3,365 civil legal questions
- Since 2019, when PILI became the state administrator, 15,843 questions have been answered on the site
“I don’t have the financial resources to pay a lawyer for all the things that I have had to go through in my difficult situation after my husband passed away. This help was a blessing for me and my family. All I can say is thank you.”
– PILI Pro Bono Client
This is just a snapshot of what PILI is already doing – the programs, networks, and opportunities we already have in place – to fulfill the promise of equal access to justice. We could not have done any of this without our statewide network of donors, volunteers and supporters. Learn more about getting involved with PILI »