The Twentieth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee is convening for the first time on Tuesday, June 26, to focus on increasing pro bono services in Monroe, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington Counties. 

This group, composed of local lawyers and judges, will plan pro bono trainings, volunteer opportunities, and pro bono recognition events to promote and enhance pro bono legal services locally.

The Twentieth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee will be one of eight such committees launched by the Public Interest Law Initiative in Illinois. All the committees differ in size and their goals vary depending on the local needs of the circuit, but each focuses on raising awareness of the need for free or low-cost legal services, recruiting volunteers, helping deliver legal services to those in need, and recognizing the impact of pro bono. Last year, more than 150 attorneys assisted more than 500 clients through PILI’s Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees.

PILI launched the Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committees in 2011 in the Third Judicial Circuit (Edwardsville area), and now also has committees in the Fifth (Danville-Mattoon-Paris area), Sixth (Champaign-Decatur area), Tenth (Peoria area), Eleventh (Bloomington area), Fourteenth (Rock Island area), and Eighteenth (DuPage County) Judicial Circuits.