We all know that pro bono helps to provide equal access to justice. But did you know that pro bono can be a fascinating and rewarding experience for the attorneys providing the services?
If your “pro bono” is the case with the client who ignored your bill, “rewarding” may not be the first word that comes to mind. However, pro bono through Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) rewards volunteers with interesting and worthwhile cases.
Our training, support and supervision for all cases makes it possible for attorneys to practice pro bono in unfamiliar areas of law. Consider these two opportunities to enrich your practice and your life as you help Chicago's working poor.
CHANCERY CASES: Earlier this year, CVLS joined forces with the Cook County Chancery Division and the Chicago Bar Association to revive the Access to Justice Program. The new and improved program is being administered through the CVLS Harold I. Levine Center for Housing.
This program allows chancery judges to appoint CVLS to represent low-income pro se litigants who need help defending mortgage foreclosures, mechanic's lien cases, administrative reviews, CHA evictions and other matters. Many of these people are elderly or otherwise vulnerable to real estate scams.
Here is an example of the cases we are currently handling. A 70-year-old client, living in a home his mother had owned free and clear, was served with notice that his home had been sold in foreclosure. An investigation revealed that an acquaintance of client, who worked for a mortgage broker, forged the mother's name on a deed and sold the property.
The new owner took out a $150,000 mortgage and disappeared with the funds, leaving the house in foreclosure. The client was about to be kicked out of the home he rightfully owns based on a forged deed. CVLS intervened and filed a countersuit to declare the deed a forgery.
Sign up to help Chicagoans whose homeownership hangs in the balance. Contact CVLS staff attorney and program director Patty Nelson at (312)332-5539 or pnelson@cvls.org.
CHILDREN'S GUARDIANS AD LITEM: Most people still picture guardianship cases as simple five-minute prove-ups. Some of them are. Often, however, cases are interesting lessons in family and social dynamics.
Since 1998, CVLS has received more than 1,500 court appointments as guardian ad litem to advocate for children's best interests in minor guardianship cases. The GAL gives a child a voice in a case that includes custody disputes and fraudulent withdrawal or misuse of funds from an estate.
CVLS is most often appointed GAL when parents object to a guardianship petition or move to discharge a guardian. In one's role as child advocate, a GAL investigates past DCFS problems, criminal histories and drug abuse.
GALs spend time talking to the minors, their relatives and collateral parties. They must determine what happened in the past and whether or not a party has been rehabilitated.
Where the minor has special needs, the GAL must interview educators, counselors and physicians. Where the parties present psychological or psychiatric issues, the GAL might obtain special evaluations.
In short, the GAL must investigate the parties and the issues, compile and synthesize all the relevant data, and make recommendations to the court consistent with the best interests of the minor.
The GAL's final product, the written report, often includes medical and psychological evidence. A well-drafted report can be influential and even lead the parties to an agreed order resolving all issues.
Children are waiting for your help. Contact GAL program director Michael Bergmann, a member of the ISBA Juvenile Justice Section Council, at (312) 332-1916 or mbergmann@cvls.org.
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