Illinois Bar Foundation

[caption id="attachment_10596" align="alignright" width="300" caption="IBF Treasurer and Lincoln Legacy Society charter member James Lestikow with IBF President Vince Cornelius "][/caption] The Illinois Bar Foundation welcomed its charter members into the Lincoln Legacy Society during a ceremony at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on Thursday, April 15. The Lincoln Legacy Society was created exclusively to honor and recognize individuals who have agreed to support the Foundation's vision to be the statewide leader in advancing justice in Illinois by providing for the Foundation in his or her estate plan. Abraham Lincoln, the state's most famous lawyer, left an indelible mark on the Illinois legal system. Lincoln Legacy Society members will leave their mark on the legal system through their legacy gifts to the Illinois Bar Foundation. Click here to view a photo gallery from this event Lincoln Legacy Society charter members (Charter membership continues through Dec. 31, 2010):

• Perry and Michelle Browder, East Alton
• Vincent & Zina Cornelius, Naperville
• Carl R. Draper, Springfield
• Gregg A. Garofalo, Chicago
• Mark D. Hassakis, Mt. Vernon
• R. Michael Henderson, Peoria
• Thomas and Eileen Killarney
• John B.

The Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Bar Foundation announce the resignation of IBF Executive Director Susan Lewers. After nine years at the helm of the Foundation, Susan hopes her departure will allow her to spend more time with her growing family. The Illinois Bar Foundation has grown substantially since Susan began with the Foundation in 2001. With a new Strategic Plan adopted in 2009, the Foundation has its sights on significant growth in the immediate future. Susan can be contacted at smlewers@gmail.com.

[caption id="attachment_8458" align="alignright" width="300" caption="ISBA President John O'Brien (right) presents "The Papers of Abraham Lincoln" to Lincoln Library Director Nancy Huntley as Lincoln re-creator Randy Duncan looks on at the ISBA's Illinois Bar Center in Springfield."][/caption] ISBA President John O'Brien presented a complete, four-volume set of hardcover books, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, to the public libraries in Belleville, Edwardsville and Springfield on Friday and in Danville, Decatur and Bloomington on Tuesday. The ISBA, in partnership with its charitable affiliate the Illinois Bar Foundation, purchased sets for all 102 Illinois counties as a contribution to the Illinois Bicentennial celebration of Lincoln's birth on Feb. 12, 2009. "Public libraries throughout the state will now have this important set of books that include details of his 50 most prominent cases," O'Brien said. "It is a lasting tribute to the most revered lawyer in the history of our state and nation." The Papers, a long-term project dedicated to identifying, imaging and publishing all documents written by or to Abraham Lincoln during his lifetime (1809-1865), is considered the most comprehensive collection of texts during his life.

Illinois Legal Aid Online, which is funded in part by a $20,000 grant from the Illinois Bar Foundation, was featured in a recent Chicago Daily Law Bulletin story. Another $10,000 IBF grant to the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice funds the creation of 5 self help centers in some of the most rural counties in the state. By Maria Kantzavelos Law Bulletin staff writer Illinois Legal Aid Online hasn't yet reached its goal of establishing technology-based legal self-help center in the courthouses and public libraries of every county in the state to increase access to justice for low-income residents and pro se litigants. But an instant messaging service, launched recently on the non-profit organization's Web site, is serving as a supplement toward that end, said Lisa A. Colpoys, executive director of Illinois Legal Aid Online. "Our goal is to have a legal self-help center in every county. It's not there yet," said Colpoys, adding that the computer self-help centers are in courthouses or public libraries in 38 Illinois counties. "And even if there is a legal-self help center in their county, they may not be able to access it because they have transportation issues, they're disabled, they work during the hours it's open. "We thought it was logical to add a help component to the Web site. It gives another access point for people all over the state." Launched in October, LiveHelp is an online chat service that can be accessed with a click of a computer mouse on IllinoisLegalAid.org. LiveHelp has Web site visitors communicating in real-time with a remote operator who helps them navigate the site's free online legal information and other resources - such as legal documents and application forms - to help people who can't afford an attorney find the resources they need to resolve their legal problems. "A lot of the people we're trying to reach aren't very sophisticated Internet users. Or they may have problems using a computer in general, or not a lot of experience using a computer. They may not have those skills," Colpoys said. "The operator fills in, and helps them find what they need." The live operators are law students from around the state who may be volunteering via laptop computers in two-hour shifts from coffeehouses or their law schools.  Or, like Samira Nazem - a 3L at the University of Chicago Law School - from their living room couch. Nazem is among the law students who underwent the required training to serve as a LiveHelp operator. She said she usually takes the 9 to 11 a.m. shift on Tuesdays. She said the volunteer work is a perfect fit while juggling her law school studies. "I wanted to contribute, but in a way that wouldn't require 15 or 20 hours a week," she said. "[Volunteering] as a LiveHelp operator] allowed a lot more flexibility for me, while allowing me to give back to the community." Visitors to IllinoisLegalAid.org in need of direction can click on the "Click to chat" option on the Web site for person-to-person help from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.