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BREAKING NEW GROUND IN THE BATTLE AGAINST CHICAGO VIOLENCE
CBA Hosts Lawyers Call to Action Summit
By Sally Daly
CBA Public Affairs Director
T
he CBA tackled some new ground
in the fight against violence in
Chicago neighborhoods, hosting
a unique event designed to bring sorely
needed legal services to help citizens in
communities experiencing heightened
crime and poverty.
More than 25 community and legal
aid organizations across Chicago were
represented at the first ever “Lawyers Call
to Action” summit hosted at the CBA on
November 3. The event was designed to
give lawyers an opportunity to meet leaders
from community organizations and to vol-
unteer to provide legal assistance to those
agencies and the citizens that they serve.
Enthusiasm ran high as lawyers circu-
lated the room and spoke with dozens of
representatives from community organiza-
tions for more than two hours to network
and share contact information.
“This was a win-win opportunity for us
because we were able to speak directly with
attorneys to explain the legal services that we
need to help the citizens of Little Village,”
said August Sallas, President of the Little
Village Community Council who attended
with two other members of his organization.
Lawyers who attended the Call to Action event worked the room to meet with representatives from
community service organizations to discuss their specific needs for legal services.
“We are very excited about the connections
that we were able to make here today.”
The Call to Action event was the culmi-
nation of ongoing efforts by the CBA to
address community violence, including a
summit last May that brought together city
leaders from the legal, law enforcement,
criminal justice, religious, education, and
health care communities.
Since that time, the CBA has continued
to move the initiative forward, meeting
with individual community service agen-
cies to identify the legal needs of their cli-
ents and residents in areas of legal practice
such as housing issues, wills and trusts,
state licensing, foreclosure, child support,
parental rights and expungement.
Laying the Groundwork
“Chicago neighborhoods continue to
suffer from an epidemic of violence that is
destroying families,” said CBA President
Judge Thomas Mulroy. “Our goal was to
help lay the groundwork for lawyers to
channel their skills directly into commu-
nities to help provide legal assistance for
citizens who need it most.”
The Call to Action event began with
a 1 hour MCLE program on pro bono
engagement that explored how lawyers can
make a positive impact in communities,
particularly those that experience height-
ened crime and violence due to a lack of
adequate infrastructure and resources.
The community agency representatives
made a short presentation to the attorneys
about the specific legal needs that they were
seeking for their respective organizations.
The lawyers were then able to speak
with representatives from the individual
community agencies to discuss their spe-
cific legal needs and share their contact
information for future services.
NATIONAL PURCHASING PARTNERS
The CBAhas partneredwithNational Purchasing
Partners (NPP) to offer members discount pric-
ing on a variety of products. Employee discounts
also available.To learnmore, visit www.mynpp.
com or call 800/810-3909.
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NOVEMBER 2017