LAF is one of the
premier legal services programs in the nation, and provides excellent
opportunities for students to immerse themselves in the civil legal problems of
the poor. It has a staff of approximately 90 attorneys, many of whom have been
engaged in poverty law practice for 10 to 20 years. As of November 2011, LAF
will be consolidating all of its offices into a new downtown location at 120 S.
LaSalle Street.
LAF represents clients
in a variety of substantive areas of law including housing, immigration,
children's rights, disabilities, utilities, public benefits, consumer, veterans’
rights, family, health, employment, and domestic violence. Law students perform a variety of duties at
LAF depending on their experience level and the needs of a particular practice
group. These duties include client
interviews and case investigation, drafting of pleadings, memoranda and briefs,
direct representation at administrative hearings, court representation under
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711, and legal research. Because of funding and
budgetary constraints, LAF gives first priority to applications for summer
positions from law students who bring their own (e.g., law-school or
student-group) funding. Some other funding
options are described below.
Application Procedure
If you are a 1L or 2L interested in applying to LAF and are able
to make a minimum commitment of at least 10 weeeks of full-time work during the summer of 2012, please complete your application as outlined below:
- Send a cover letter, resume, list of 2
references (at least one from law school, and with e-mail addresses), brief writing
sample (3-5 pages), and law school transcript. If you are a 1L and do not yet
have law school grades, please indicate when you will be able to forward them.
(You can also state your expected grades if applicable.)
- In your cover letter, please indicate which of
the potential funding sources listed below (e.g., law-school or student-group
funding, PILI, Equal Justice America, Work Study) apply to
your application.
LAF
will consider students for positions based upon the student's application and
upon LAF’s workload and space constraints. Spanish-speaking and
Polish-speaking ability is a plus.
Application materials and inquires should be sent by e-mail to:
Daniel Lindsey
Supervisory
Attorney
Legal
Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago
120 S. LaSalle St, 9th Floor
Chicago,
IL 60603
E-mail:
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We will begin to process applications for the summer of 2012 as of
November 1, 2011. Applications will be processed and offers made on a
rolling basis. All application materials should be received by LAF no
later than February 15, 2012, but positions may be filled before that date.
Funding Options
Public Interest Fellowships.
Many summer interns bring their own funding from
their law schools and/or student-funded groups.
Other students are funded through independent fellowship programs. Each
of these programs has different application procedures and deadlines. For some
programs, the student must secure sponsorship from an organization as part of
the application process. If you are applying for such an internship, or are
able to arrange funding through such an internship program, LAF would be happy
to consider sponsoring your application. Students should be aware of any
deadlines such programs have, and should contact LAF in sufficient time for us
to consider the application. Two
independent sources of funding are the Public Interest Law Initiative (www.pili-law.org)
and Equal Justice America (www.equaljusticeamerica.org). In addition,
Equal Justice Works (at www.equaljusticeworks.org) sponsors a stipend toward
payment of law school tuition for students working as legal services summer
interns.
Work Study.
If you are able to obtain partial funding through work study, LAF will consider a 25% matching grant to fund an internship on this basis.
Volunteer or Class Credit.
LAF will also consider your application if you wish to volunteer your time, or seek class credit for working at LAF through a school externship or internship program.
