Join us!

Chicago Appleseed could not be effective in fighting for systemic change without the assistance of dedicated pro bono lawyers, community volunteers, and sustaining donors whose commitment to justice allows us to identify and address barriers to justice in Cook County.

All of our projects are led by groups of between 10-100 volunteers, including lawyers, academics, organizers, and other local professionals and community members, who meet monthly and, cumulatively, provide thousands-of-hours of pro bono research and advocacy work for our collaborative initiatives annually. These volunteer committees cover issues related to the Criminal Legal System, Access to Justice, Immigration Court Reform, Family Law & Courts, and Police Accountability.

Program committee members give 1-to-2 hours of pro bono time per month to attend our monthly standing meetings. During this time, they connect with the most dedicated advocates in Chicago to bring about meaningful change in our legal system and help guide Chicago Appleseed in its mission to make the courts more accessible. Members who wish to provide additional support help design our research projects, work with community partners, and help devise remedies and advocacy strategies in order to restructure our courts so they can better fulfill their mission to deliver justice to everyone.

Click here to join a program committee or learn about getting involved.

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts conducts court-watching in a variety of civil and criminal courtrooms in Cook County. Our volunteers observe as a means to demystify the judicial process, hold judges and other court stakeholders accountable, and help strengthen our research and advocacy. Our court-watchers observe proceedings to collect case outcome data, observe judicial behavior and culture, or to understand general court functioning.

Court-watchers provide unique and valuable perspectives on the functioning of our courts. A court-watcher’s purpose in the courtroom is to assess the atmosphere, culture, and character of the courtroom to understand how judges influence the environment and collect data to inform future advocacy efforts and ongoing research of Chicago Appleseed and our collaboration partners.

Click here to learn about becoming a volunteer court-watcher for Chicago Appleseed.

Interested in a larger pro bono project for yourself or your law firm, organization, or corporation? In addition to joining a program committee, our pro bono program has opportunities for teams of various sizes – including volunteer lawyers, accountants, data analysts, social workers, management consultants, and others – to do direct research or assist in other ways to support our projects.

Please contact Malcolm Rich directly to inquire about opportunities for formalized pro bono partnerships (malcolmrich@chicagoappleseed.org). 

To contribute in direct support of our work, go to ChicagoAppleseed.org/Donate.