PRO-BONO OPPORTUNITIES

CARPLS offers a variety of pro bono opportunities for private attorneys and law students who are interested in public interest service. Volunteers are provided training and support in a limited practice area which includes: Landlord/Tenant, Consumer Debt/Collection, Simple Divorce or Employment. Attorneys and law students who participate in one or more pro bono projects are required to commit to a minimum of 20 hours of service annually. Current pro bono projects include:

Nightline
The CARPLS Hotline is open one night each week on Wednesday between 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM to assist clients who are unable to access the Hotline during its normal daytime operating hours. Staff and volunteer attorneys are treated to pizza before accepting live client calls from the Hotline. The Nightline shift is only open to licensed attorneys who are willing to commit to one or more evening shifts a month. Attorneys interested in volunteering on the Nightline shift may contact Matt Gallagher at for more information or to sign up for a training session. Please regiester for training sessions at least one week prior to the session.

The 2008 Volunteer Training Schedule
January 16- Landlord-Tenant
April 16- Consumer Law
May 28- Landlord-Tenant
October 1- Landlord-Tenant

Go Bono
The Go Bono project gives private attorneys the opportunity to volunteer on the Hotline from the comfort of their own home or office. Attorneys with a computer, a phone and broadband connection can volunteer on the CARPLS Hotline from a remote location at any time during CARPLS normal operating hours.   The Go Bono project is supported through CARPLS custom intake software which gives remote volunteers access to an extensive on-line legal resource library to assist them with their Hotline consultations. Remote volunteers also receive full access to CARPLS senior staff attorneys via a specialized instant messaging technology built into the client intake software. The Go Bono project is the perfect opportunity for attorneys who are interested in public interest service but are unable to make a specific volunteer commitment.  Go Bono lets you pick the time and the place of your volunteer service. This is currently a pilot project that will not be available for general enrollment until January 2007. For more information about the Go Bono project contact Matt Gallagher at .

Domestic Relations Self-Help Desk 
The Domestic Relations Self-Help Desk is a court-based project designed to help pro se litigants help themselves by providing information and advice on how to more effectively navigate the family court system. Attorneys at the Desk also assist clients with the drafting of simple family law pleadings and provide legal aid referrals when available to clients with more complex family law matters. Located on the 30th floor of the Richard J. Daley Center , the Desk is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Volunteer opportunities at the Desk are currently limited only to experienced family law practitioners. Experienced family law attorneys who are interested in volunteering at the Domestic Relations Desk may contact managing attorney, Susan Craven at for more information.

Collection Self-Help Desk  
The Collection Self-Help Desk is designed to provide information, advice and referrals to pro se debtors and creditors with cases on the post-judgment collection call. The Desk is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and is located inside the Post-Judgment Collection Court in Room 1401 of the Daley Center . This volunteer opportunity is available to licensed attorneys and 711 licensed law students. Attorneys and law students who are interested in volunteering at the Collection Desk may contact managing attorney, Ashlee Highland at . for more information.

Student Hotline   
The Student Hotline offers first and second year law students a valuable clinical experience in public interest law. Each summer the project recruits and trains twenty law student volunteers to staff the Hotline in a limited practice area of divorce, landlord/tenant and consumer debt/collection. Law student volunteers also receive training in client interviewing and counseling techniques. All client-student consultations are performed under the direct supervision of CARPLS senior attorneys, who talk to each client, review their issues, and direct the information given out by the law students.  The ten-week Student Hotline project which, runs from the beginning of June to mid-August,  allows CARPLS to serve hundreds of additional clients over the summer months when calls to the Hotline are at their peak.  Law students interested in volunteering on Student Hotline may contact managing attorney, Pat Wrona at for more information.