Volunteer Opportunities

Pro Bono / Volunteer / Intern Opportunities with Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice

Change lives by changing the system.

Chicago Appleseed pro bono attorneys work to promote systemic reform at the heart of local and state policies. Chicago Appleseed conducts research and advocacy in the areas of criminal justice, judicial performance, court reform, and community justice. We identify problems, research their causes, and recommend systemic solutions. Chicago Appleseed is part of a national network of public interest law centers working through and with Appleseed in Washington, D.C.

Interns and volunteers work with our talented staff, committed board members, and blue ribbon task forces comprised of exceptional professionals in their fields. The work you do will directly influence decisions by major policy makers at the city, county, and state level. Commitments are tailored to your availability and strengths, and can range from interviewing experts, drafting memos, writing grants, blogging, court watching, and more.

Some of our more recent accomplishments, which have drawn on volunteer assistance, include:

• Planned and staffed the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County
• Successfully negotiated the end of videoconferencing in bond court.
• Created an ongoing court watching program at the Cook County Criminal Courts building.
• Contributed to the decades-long effort to abolish the death penalty in Illinois.
• Published and continually revised the Chicago Tenant-Landlord Handbook.
• Collaborated with the Egan Coalition for Payday Loan Reform to enact payday lending legislation.

Our recent accomplishments,  described above, have all drawn on pro bono and/or intern assistance.

If you are interested in changing lives at the systemic level with Chicago Appleseed, please contact Malcolm Rich at malcolmrich@chicagoappleseed.org

or 312.988.6565.

 

Current Volunteer Opportunities

Court Reform & Judicial Accountability

• Assist in the implementation of a Judicial Performance Commission which will evaluate Cook County judges seeking retention on the 2010 general election ballot. We are looking for lawyers with at least ten years experience in state court legal practice who will supervise the investigation teams.
• Voter Education – Assist in the implementation of a web and media based campaign to education voters about judges seeking retention on the general election ballot.
• Participate in the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee, chaired by Ellyn Rosen, which will be drafting judicial recusal proposals and procedures to improve the way in which judicial vacancies are filled.
• Research how Cook County judges get to the bench, how they maintain their seats and evaluate alternatives to those methods.
• Compare Illinois’ method for filling judicial vacancies with methods used by other states.
• Participate in the Immigration Court Reform Advisory Group by conducting policy research, crafting of proposed federal rules and legislation, and the writing of policy positions and editorial pieces for the media and for publication. The Advisory Group will also oversee a court watching program in the immigration courts. Advocate for recommendations stemming from the Appleseed report (pdf) on the immigration courts.

 

Criminal Justice Reform

The felony criminal justice system has become the de facto and underfunded community mental health and drug treatment provider in Cook County. Many of the Chicago Appleseed recommendations are aimed at increasing the number and scope of court-related services and diversion programs.

• Participate or contribute to the Criminal Justice Committee, co-chaired by Chicago-Kent Law Professor Daniel Coyne and Robert Loeb. The Committee is currently drafting a “Diversion Blueprint,” aimed at providing community-based treatment for nonviolent offenders. It will also versee an ongoing court watching program at 26th and California.
• Develop a best practices manual examining the best ways to utilize social workers or social work graduate students within the felony criminal justice system – a practical approach to the increasing problem of dealing with defendants who show symptoms of mental illness.
• Design and implement an assessment of the Cook County misdemeanor courts with a focus on possible due process concerns, the possible implementation of drug and mental health court calls, and the community court concept.
• Participate in an evaluation of the Cook County Adult Probation system.

 

Community Justice and Education

 

• Assist in legislative advocacy around the concept of creating a central management agency for all administrative law judges. We will conduct research to document the need for a central management agency. We will be writing concept and advocacy articles, as well as working with the media.
• Participate in an ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness and fairness of the Illinois child support system, with an eye toward issues pertaining to the bifurcated judicial and administrative processes.
• Translate publications into Spanish.