Ask-A-Lawyer Desk Will Begin Offering Free Legal Help In Urbana This Month
(Wikimedia Commons)
Tens of thousands of people in Illinois represent themselves in court each year, and many of them do so because they can’t afford an attorney, according to the nonprofit Public Interest Law Initiative.
The organization started an Ask-A-Lawyer Desk at a handful of courthouses around the state to help low-income people navigate civil cases, and beginning May 21, will add the Champaign County Courthouse in Urbana to its list of sites where litigants can receive free legal help.
“We’re focusing on these really basic legal issues that folks are facing,” said Michael Bergmann, executive director of PILI, during an interview on Illinois Public Media’s the 21st Show. He said the organization aims to help low-income people with civil cases that may be impediments to maintaining their employment, keeping their house or keeping their family together.
Unlike in criminal cases, the accused in civil court are not constitutionally entitled to legal representation if they’re unable to afford it on their own. But Bergmann says civil court cases, which can range from child support or custody issues to housing problems, can significantly impact a person’s wellbeing.
“If they have to spend money on legal fees, it’s going to take away from them being able to afford basic necessities,” Bergmann said. “This would be a real hardship for them to pay an attorney.”
Clients must be within 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines to be eligible for a consultation with the attorney at the Ask-A-Lawyer desk. The program currently exists in other Illinois towns, including Peoria and Decatur. It will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Self-Help Center of the Champaign County Courthouse on the first and third Tuesday of each month to provide advice, not legal representation. Appointments are not required, but are limited to thirty minutes.
The Ask-A-Lawyer desk in Urbana will host an open house May 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the County Courthouse for potential volunteers and litigants to learn more about the Ask-A-Lawyer desk.