PUBLIC INTEREST INITIATIVES AT CHICAGO-KENT
Chicago-Kent College of Law established the Center for Access to Justice & Technology (CAJT) to make justice more accessible to the public through the use of the technology. The Center for Access to Justice & Technology conducts research, builds software tools, teaches classes and supports faculty, staff and student projects on access to justice and technology.
Chicago-Kent has been dedicated to using technology to increase access to justice since the 1970s. In 1978 the Chicago-Kent Law Clinic launched the Law Office of the Future Project with funding from the Ford Foundation to explore the use of document assembly software as a tool to increase the efficiency of lawyers and students representing low and moderate income individuals in Chicago. In the 1980s, the Center for Law and Computers redefined the way law students used technology to learn the law and helped launch the ABA TechShow conferences to educate lawyers and their assistants on how to become more efficient using computers. In 1998, Chicago-Kent founded the Justice Web Collaboratory to promote the use of the Internet to provide synergy to the collaboration of legal academia, the judiciary, law practitioners and the consumers of the law. From 2001-2005, Chicago-Kent partnered with, and housed the Illinois Technology Center for Law & the Public Interest (ITC) in a unique collaboration with legal service providers, funders, the private bar and law schools with the mission of increasing access to justice for low income and disadvantaged persons through the innovative use of technology. ITC has now become Illinois Legal Aid Online, an independent organization providing web-based information and support for legal aid lawyers, pro bono volunteers and low income individuals through its Web site, www.illinoislegalaidonline.org.
In 2005, Chicago-Kent launched its Center for Access to Justice & Technology (CAJT), a new initiative aimed at leveraging technology to increase access to justice. In partnership with the Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI), CAJT has developed a new software tool, the Access to Justice Author, to allow the technologically savvy lawyer or law school student to build graphical interviews that provide self-represented litigants with prepared court forms and other legal documents. To further its mission, the Center has built partnerships with courts and legal aid organizations in Illinois, Maryland, California, New York, Idaho and Washington State.
The Center for Access to Justice & Technology allows students to drive the CAJT mission of improving access to justice through the Internet. Some current opportunities for students include volunteer positions at the Self-Help Web Desk and through the application of the Access to Justice Author. The Self-Help Web Desk is located at the Daley Center and allows students to gain legal experience though their volunteer work. The Center offers paid and un-paid legal research positions to develop the graphical interviews that assist self-represented litigants. Students garner legal experience in these legal research positions at CAJT through the creation of graphical interviews and the exploration of new ways to increase access to justice.
Students can also participate in the Access to Justice Seminar class, taught by Professor Ron Staudt, CAJT’s Project Director. Students in this seminar will explore the potential of the Internet and related technologies to improve access to justice.
Law
Offices Pro Bono Clinics
The Law Offices of Chicago-Kent offers nine long-standing
programs in live-client clinical legal education which accommodate
over 150 students in the fall and spring semesters and over 50
students in the summer semester. The In-House Clinic program is
a three or four credit, ungraded course. Students are assigned
to supervising attorneys and practice groups and work primarily
on client cases. The live-client programs include three public
interest clinics: the Advice Desk, Mediation and ADR, and the
Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic. In addition there is a pro bono program
offered, The Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI).
PILI Fellows working at the Law Offices will work
on challenging criminal or civil litigation under the close supervision
of one or more of seven of the Law Offices' clinical professors,
each of whom is an experienced practicing attorney. They will
participate in all aspects of the cases to which they are assigned.
Thus, fellows will be involved in client contact, litigation strategy
sessions, legal research and writing, drafting of pleadings and
motions, discovery, settlement, trials or other court proceedings,
etc.
Public
Interest Legal and Judicial Externships
Chicago-Kent offers a large number of public interest
externship-for-credit opportunities. Students can participate
in externships with various government agencies and public interest
organizations through the Legal Externship Program. Students may
also extern for various federal, state, and county judges through
the Judicial Externship Program.
Public
Interest Resource Center (PIRC)
PIRC is for law students interested in serving the
needs of the community. PIRC offers students a chance to participate
in various kinds of community action by way of both legal and
non-legal volunteer public interest opportunities.
PIRC acts as a link to non-profit organizations and other public
service projects in need of volunteers for either a short or long-term
commitment. The positions are volunteer, not paid nor for credit,
however PIRC is a great resource for law students interested in
pursuing an internship or future job placement in public interest.
Students are encouraged to volunteer as much time as fits into
their schedule.
Upon completing at least 50 hours of volunteered time, the student
is awarded a Chicago-Kent Certificate of Service. For more information,
please stop by the PIRC office in room 654.
Consumer Protection Law
Chicago-Kent has a burgeoning consumer law focus and offers a diverse curriculum, speaker opportunities, student organization efforts, and student projects focusing on consumer law. In addition, the law school is actively working to enhance programming and awareness of consumer protection issues.
Street Law Outreach Program
Chicago-Kent is starting a Street Law Outreach
Program for law students to participate in. Law schools throughout
the country with National Lawyers Guild (NLG) chapters have street
law programs. Street Law Clinics are workshops on various legal
topics for non-lawyers. The goal of the clinics is to empower
the participants by teaching them about their legal rights.
Clinics are conducted by volunteer law students
with back-up by lawyers. They take place in community centers,
churches, high schools, homeless shelters, union halls, and pre-release
centers. The workshops are interactive, with participants figuring
out how to deal with real-life situations, and usually last about
two hours. Some focus on at-risk youths and hold clinics primarily
at schools. This program is for any student who wishes to volunteer
to participate; there is no pay or credit hours.
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