PILI is a National Leader in ABA Free Legal Answers 2023 Summary Report
The American Bar Association 2023 Summary Report indicates PILI in Illinois remains a national leader for the virtual online legal clinic.
Over 330,000 civil legal questions have been answered since the launch of the ABA Free Legal Answers website in 2016 according to the ABA’s 2023 Summary Report. The site, which allows low-income people to post civil legal questions for lawyers to answer, was an especially important resource during the pandemic and the effects of the pandemic are still being felt today as increases in questions is a reminder of the unmet legal needs in the country. Over 13,000 volunteer attorneys across the country have made an incredible impact in expanding access to justice by assisting those in need in underserved and underrepresented communities providing over 72,000 hours of pro bono time.
ABA Free Legal Answers offers, for some, the only opportunity to get assistance to a legal question for those who cannot access legal services for a number of possible reasons whether it be financial, geographical, or transportation constraints. Over 19,600 questions were submitted by veterans and over 16,700 questions were submitted by seniors since the website was launched. The most common types of questions submitted pertained to Family and Children (38%), Housing and Homelessness (16%), Other (18%) or Consumer/Financial (10%). Additionally, people may now get responses to questions about two federal areas of law, immigration and veterans’ benefits. According to the 2023 ABA Impact Report, ABA Federal Free Legal Answers responded to 153 immigration questions thanks to 12 volunteer attorneys. The ABA Commission on Immigration provides training and resources to the attorney volunteers, who may answer one or several questions.
PILI is the statewide administrator in Illinois, which remains the state with the most volunteers on the site with 1,269 registered volunteer attorneys. PILI continues to focus on volunteer recruitment and training across the state, regularly working with law firms, corporations and law schools to set up both in person and virtual clinics to train volunteers to use the site and then answer questions together. In 2023, Illinois Free Legal Answers volunteers answered 3,565 civil legal questions to help those in need.
PILI already works with many law firms, corporations, bar associations and law schools in Illinois to host Illinois Free Legal Answers clinics for their volunteers. PILI can provide a training on how to use Illinois Free Legal Answers for participants. PILI can also provide a CLE program with Illinois MCLE credit for volunteers. This is also a great partnership opportunity for these groups to come together for a joint clinic. Learn more »
If you would like to volunteer to answer questions for those in need, please visit our website or reach out to PILI Managing Attorney Abigail Causer by email or at 217-693-6017.
PILI Spotlight: New Board of Directors’ Alumni Representatives
PILI is excited to welcome Isabelle Rosado and Paul Drake-Stockard to our Board of Directors as our new Law Student Intern and Graduate Fellow Alumni Representatives. Each year, PILI selects representatives from the most recent class of Interns and Fellows to serve on the board for a two-year term. Isabelle is a 2L at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law and did her PILI Law Student Internship at CARPLS. Paul is an Associate in the Financial Institutions Group at Sidley Austin LLP and did his 2023 Graduate Fellowship at Ladder Up.
Isabelle Rosado
2L, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
2023 Law Student Intern
What have you been up to since your PILI Internship concluded?
Since my PILI Internship has concluded, I have started an externship at the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. I am in the felony trial division at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. I have recently applied for my 711 license and hope to get practical experience litigating motions, pre-trial detention hearings, and trials.
What was your favorite thing about being a PILI Intern?
This past summer, I was a PILI Intern at CARPLS, where I advised clients over the Cook County Legal Aid Hotline. My favorite thing about being a PILI Intern was being able to speak with and interview a total of 135 clients, while furthering my education in weekly seminars. Speaking with so many individuals allowed me to have a better understanding of the everyday issues Cook County residents face and receive feedback from clients regarding accessibility to the courts. The weekly seminars hosted by PILI focused on a variety of topics from tips on interviewing clients and steps to take for expungements, to advice for applying for future jobs and fellowships. I believe these seminars focused on core skills that could be used by all interns in their fields and taught me about agencies outside of my respective placement.
How has your commitment to service played a role in your life and career?
From attending a private catholic high school to being the community service chair for my pre-law fraternity in undergrad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, service has always played a large role in my life. Service is important because it brings the community together as one to combat complex, systemic issues. I believe that to move forward, we need to help those who are most vulnerable or less fortunate. As for my career, my work at Metropolitan Family Services and CARPLS both focused on providing services to the community, which included legal help, access to vaccines, resource fairs, and holiday toy giveaways. This past year, I organized a coat drive at UIC Law School through the Latino Law Students Association (LLSA) for migrants coming to Chicago and was able to raise over 165 coats for families facing snow for the first time. In the future, I expect to dedicate my career to service because it gives me a sense of purpose, community, and provides equal access to justice.
Paul Drake-Stockard
Associate, Sidley Austin LLP
2023 Graduate Fellow
What have you been up to since your PILI Fellowship concluded?
I began my legal career at Sidley Austin LLP as an Associate in the Financial Institutions group. I’m also continuing to serve PILI as a Graduate Fellow Representative on PILI’s Board of Directors. Finally, I’m serving as a Representative on Ladder UP’s Associates Board.
What was your favorite thing about being a PILI Fellow?
I really enjoyed the opportunity to understand and appreciate the community of Chicago. My Fellowship afforded me the privilege of interacting with and helping people who are largely responsible for making Chicago among the best places worldwide. These people are under appreciated and often overlooked. It was an honor to pursue their definitions of justice on their behalf.
How has your commitment to service played a role in your life and career?
The legal profession is a selfless trade. We make a commitment to serve upon taking our oath. Everyday is an opportunity to make a positive difference, large or small, in the lives of others or within my community. To approach any day with a mindset to the contrary is the type of selfishness that the profession, the oath I’ve taken, and the hard work I’ve put in thus far precludes. The law is a means; justice is the end. And I’ll pursue it with a commitment to service for as long as I can.
Save the Date for 2024 Pro Bono Roundtables
Every year, PILI holds several Pro Bono Forums and Roundtables to bring together pro bono leaders from law firms, corporations, legal service agencies and law schools to discuss timely pro bono issues, challenges and best practices and develop strategies to expand and enhance pro bono in Illinois. The Pro Bono Roundtables allow for unique constituent group-specific conversations, while our Illinois Forum on Pro Bono is for everyone and give attendees an opportunity for in-depth discussion among a cross-section of the legal profession.
This year, PILI will host three Pro Bono Roundtables. Follow the links below to register.
Legal Service Agency Roundtable
The Legal Service Agency Roundtable is scheduled for Thursday, April 18, 2024 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. and brings together representatives from PILI’s partner public interest law agencies to share best practices and strategies for success.
Law School Pro Bono Roundtable
The Law School Pro Bono Roundtable is scheduled for Wednesday, July 17, 2024 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. from and brings together law school representatives to discuss best practices, successful strategies and collaboration opportunities.
Joint Law Firm & Corporate Pro Bono Roundtable
The Joint Law Firm & Corporate Pro Bono Roundtable is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1, 2024 from 11:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Law firm and corporate pro bono leaders will come together to discuss pro bono opportunities and challenges, and to share best practices and strategies for successful pro bono programs.
Learn more about PILI’s Pro Bono Forums & Roundtables »
Learn more about PILI’s Pro Bono Initiative »
Meet PILI’s Spring Semester 2024 Law Student Interns
PILI is excited to welcome our Spring Semester 2024 Law Student Interns!
This semester, 9 Law Student Interns will provide 1,800 hours of legal services supervised by experienced attorneys at one of PILI’s Participating Agencies. In addition to the work experience, the PILI Internship also includes supplemental educational, networking and advising opportunities for these second and third-year law students.
OUR SPRING 2024 LAW STUDENT INTERNS INCLUDE:
- Afaaf Amatullah from University of Illinois Law School at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)*
- Rachel Caldwell from University of Chicago Law School at ACLU Chicago
- Alyssa Hurt from University of Illinois Chicago School of Law at Greater Chicago Legal Clinic
- Seon ki Jo from University of Illinois Law School at Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights*
- Courtney Lee from University of Illinois Chicago School of Law at CARPLS
- Maggie Miltko from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law at National Immigrant Justice Center – Counter Trafficking Project*
- Emma Soglin from DePaul College of Law at Law Center for Better Housing*
- James Tallis from University of Illinois Law School at Legal Aid Chicago
- Dulcie Xue from Chicago-Kent College of Law at National Immigrant Justice Center – LGBTQ Project*
5 of these Internships are made possible by special donations for Named & Honorary Interns (designated with an asterisk above). Meet our Named & Honorary Interns »
Learn more about the Law Student Internship Program »
Have questions about PILI’s Law Student Internship Program? Please contact PILI Executive Director Michael Bergmann by email or by phone at 312-832-5129.
PILI Receives Support from Several Foundations
PILI has recently received renewed funding from several funders. We are so grateful for their continued support of PILI’s mission to engage, inspire and empower those advancing equal access to justice.
PILI is grateful to the Francis Beidler Foundation for their continuing grant support of $13,000 to fund general operating expenses as well as to the Alfred C. Tisdahl Memorial Internship. A longtime supporter of PILI, the Francis Beidler Foundation funds the Alfred C. Tisdahl Memorial Internship to honor the memory of prominent Chicago litigator Alfred C. Tisdahl, who died in 2000. PILI is grateful for the Beidler Foundation’s longstanding support of our work and vision.
PILI has received a renewed grant of $25,000 from the Robert Gallagher Foundation which will be used to fully fund two summer Law Student Internships. The trust was established by Robert E. Gallagher, a distinguished leader and innovator in the insurance industry who was also renowned for his many community and charitable endeavors. Mr. Gallagher served as CEO of the Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., one of the world’s largest insurance brokerage firms, until 1995 and remained Chairman until his death in 2006. He was the father of Anne Gallagher O’Malley, wife of longtime PILI board member and current Life Director, Richard F. O’Malley, Jr. PILI is very grateful to the Robert E. Gallagher Charitable Trust for their continued support of PILI’s mission.
PILI is thrilled to announce increased support from the Lawyers Trust Fund in the amount of $262,250. This funding allow PILI to expand the work of its Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees by providing a new staff position. Additionally, the increase will fund 12 new PILI Law Student Interns in Summer 2025. LTF is the largest state-level funder of civil legal aid for the poor in Illinois and makes grants from revenue generated by the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program as well as a legal aid fee assessed on Illinois lawyers as part of the annual attorney registration process. LTF’s grants support non-profit organizations that provide a legal safety net for low-income people with desperate needs and nowhere else to turn. We are incredibly thankful to LTF for its continued support.
The Diversity Scholarship Foundation has awarded PILI a grant that will fund a Spring 2024 Law Student Intern. The Foundation was established by a group of attorneys and judges committed to the ideal that diverse law school student bodies are a means of ensuring further diversification in the legal community. To fulfill its mission, the Foundation seeks to financially assist underprivileged and under-represented minorities in attending law school by offering them scholarships. PILI is very grateful for the generosity of the Diversity Scholarship Foundation in sponsoring this inaugural Internship and their support of PILI.
Thank you to these and all of our supporters!
Thank You for a Successful Annual Awards Luncheon!
L to R: PILI Executive Director Michael Bergmann, 2023 Award Recipients: Susan Lester, Clifford Histed, Matthew Newsted, Kathy Malamis of Zurich North America, and PILI Board President Daniel Lange
On December 6, 2023, over 350 members of the Illinois legal community gathered together to celebrate the very best aspects of the legal profession. Thank you to all who joined us to celebrate PILI and to all of those past, present and future who have been a critical part of our work to make equal access to justice a reality through a legal community with a deeply rooted culture of service, where pro bono and public interest law engagement is optimized to best serve people, families and communities in need.
Thanks to the support of 56 law firms, corporations and law school sponsors as well as individual donors and supporters, we raised over $240,000 through the event to support PILI’s work to engage, inspire and empower those advancing equal access to justice. We are incredibly grateful for the very generous and critically needed support from the Illinois legal community.
At the event, PILI also bestowed its four annual awards as follows:
- Distinguished Intern Alumni Award: Matthew Newsted, Associate Director of Legal Tech at Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO)
- Distinguished Fellow Alumni Award: Susan Lester, Senior Director of ESG at Otis Worldwide Corporation
- Pro Bono Initiative Award: Zurich North America
- Distinguished Public Service Award: Clifford Histed, K&L Gates
Learn more about this year’s recipients »
You can also view photos from the event here »
We also distributed our Year in Review at the event. PILI’s annual Year in Review details our work over the past year and highlights our many accomplishments in our work to engage, inspire and empower those advancing equal access to justice. Read our 2023 Year in Review »
Finally, we announced PILI’s 2024 theme, “Empowered to Advocate.” PILI empowers law students, lawyers, and legal professionals to advocate for others. And we empower our clients to advocate for themselves. As we look to the new year, PILI will be right beside the members of the legal community to empower you to use your skills and expertise to make a difference in our communities across Illinois. And for those with unmet legal needs, with your help, PILI will empower them to get the legal help they need and the justice they deserve. Read more »
SAVE THE DATE: In 2024, our Annual Awards Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.