Are you in Illinois and have a civil (non-criminal) legal question? Visit https://il.freelegalanswers.org/ and click on "Get Started" to post a question. A volunteer  lawyer will send you an answer at no cost.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many court help desks, legal clinics and legal aid offices are currently closed around the state. Vulnerable members of our community are now with even less resources to turn to for help. We need to make sure we have enough volunteer attorneys available to answer questions.

If you are able to answer online civil legal questions from people in need during this time, please join PILI's COVID-19 Illinois Free Legal Answers Task Force. When you join, you will receive special communications about Illinois Free Legal Answers, such as alerts when the number of questions in the queue is particularly high. It will also let us know how many people are available to answer questions and how many clients we can open up the site to.

While signing up for the task force isn't a formal commitment, we just ask that you read emails and answer questions when you are able. We will also look to you, as a member of the Task Force, to help promote the site to attorney volunteers as well as those in need.

Jump to Volunteer Form

About Illinois Free Legal Answers

Illinois Free Legal Answers is a secure website where low-income Illinoisans can ask a lawyer for help with a civil legal issue. Volunteer lawyers then log onto the site at their convenience and answer questions waiting in the queue. It is a virtual walk-in legal clinic. PILI is the state administrator for Illinois Free Legal Answers. Like typical legal aid, we see a lot of family law, consumer and housing questions on the site, but with the pandemic, we expect to more questions about employment, benefits and other areas of increased concern. Per usual, you will be able to choose the questions you answer. Learn more about Illinois Free Legal Answers here »

Information for Potential Clients

• A flyer for clients that you can email or print.
• An image you can share on social media as well as a sample post you can share. Feel free to personalize!
• Referral information to help you explain the site and who will qualify.

Sign Up to Volunteer

Attorneys can sign up using the form below. Even one answer makes a difference. If you have any questions, please reach out to Michael Bergmann or Brent Page.