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CGLA provides legal services in the areas of family, housing, criminal defense, and expungement, sealing & clemency. Each program area is directed by a full-time staff attorney, supported by volunteer attorneys and law student interns. Each year, CGLA provides legal assistance to over 1,800 individuals, and gives legal referrals to hundreds more. CGLA employs a holistic approach to serving clients while maintaining its specialization in the provision of legal services. CGLA achieves this ambition through its holistic services program, staffed by a full-time social worker who works with our clients to identify neighborhood social services agencies to which they can be personally referred for their non-legal needs. |
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CGLA’s housing law program is designed to address the array of housing issues on both the individual and community-wide levels. The Clinic represents clients in eviction cases, grievance cases and back-rent disputes. Through the work of the Clinic, individuals and families avoid homelessness, displacement and forced neighborhood relocation.
A significant component of CGLA’s work is directed toward community education and assisting in the continued viability of local tenant associations and building counsels. CGLA’s housing law attorney presents frequently at educational seminars regarding public housing tenants’ rights and workshops for residents in private housing developments. CGLA often works closely with other agencies, such as Lawyer’s Committee for Better Housing, Uptown People’s Law Center, Legal Assistance Foundation, CARPLS, Kent’s Help Desk, and the National Center on Poverty Law. For more information on eviction court proceedings, click here. |
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In Chicago, there is a particular shortage of family law attorneys for the poor. Among the handful of legal aid providers that handle family law cases, many have significant restrictions on the types of cases that they accept. Most will not handle contested divorce cases, and no other legal aid provider will accept cases for clients who have had an order of protection entered against them. These restrictions pose a significant hardship for many needy individuals. CGLA represents scores of clients each year who were rejected by other legal aid providers for either of these reasons.
There is an enormous demand for our family law services. As compared to other areas of poverty law, family law cases (particularly contested cases) take longer to resolve. This means that of the few legal aid providers who handle family law cases, attorneys usually have a full caseload and infrequently take on new clients. A visit to any family law court in the city confirms a significant need for legal representation. In case after case, individuals appear in court without a lawyer, while judges make decisions that profoundly affect something precious to them – their family relationships. CGLA plays a vital role in helping to meet some of the demand for family law services by handling a full range of cases including custody, child support, divorce, orders of protection, guardianship, parentage, visitation and some probate matters. |
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The demand for CGLA’s legal services in the handling of expungement, sealing and clemency cases—assisting individuals in clearing their criminal records—continues to grow dramatically each year. Our goal is to enable individuals with arrests or convictions in their past, who have demonstrated positive life changes, to become more productive members of our community.
Much of this work happens at the CGLA Expungement Help Desk, located in room 1006 at the Daley Center. The Help Desk is a collaborative effort between CGLA; the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County; the Chicago Bar Foundation & Illinois Legal Aid Online. Individuals seeking assistance can come to the desk where a CGLA attorney and volunteers will review their record and advise them on their eligibility for expungement or sealing and then if applicable, guide them through the use of specially designed software to complete the forms to file. Cases requiring further assistance are referred to CGLA for a Clinic intake. The Expungement, Sealing & Clemency program also places significant emphasis on educational outreach. Each year, CGLA attorneys speak to hundreds of attorneys, students, service providers, and job developers about expungement, sealing, and clemency matters. CGLA attorneys are lead legal advisors and participants in expungement activities in the city including Congressman Danny Davis’ bi-annual Expungement Summit. CGLA is also the lead agency in collaboration with four other agencies dedicated to removing the barriers that stand between ex-offenders and employment. Partner agencies include the National Center on Poverty Law, Safer Foundation, Chicago Jobs Council, and First Defense Legal Aid. |
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CGLA is the only private agency in Chicago that provides criminal defense services to adults. The Clinic’s criminal cases involve those who are unjustly accused, first-time offenders, juveniles, or others for whom the staff believes its intervention can make a positive difference in the individual’s life. Each case that CGLA accepts is closely examined to ensure that CGLA is, in fact, the best organization to help with their legal needs.
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The purpose of CGLA's Client Support Services Program is to make a lasting impact on the lives of the individuals and families we represent. The program is staffed by a full-time social worker who, upon receiving a referral from our attorneys, opens a separate social work case, working with our clients to set goals and make a plan for increasing stability and self-sufficiency. Through this extra help, CGLA provides clients with assistance addressing the causal needs that brought them to CGLA in the first place, often capitalizing on the momentum that a legal victory can bring.
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