The American legal system is complex for anyone. But for someone who is unable to hire an attorney, their legal system is downright intimidating. For more than 50 years, LAF (formerly the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago) has provided free legal services in non-criminal matters to people living in poverty in metropolitan Chicago. At LAF, they make equal justice a reality for over 40,000 of the most vulnerable members of their community.

At LAF they work together to provide high quality civil legal services to people living in poverty and other vulnerable groups.  Through advocacy, education, collaboration, and litigation, they empower individuals, protect fundamental rights, strengthen communities, create opportunities, and achieve justice.  In carrying out their mission, they treat everyone with compassion and respect.

LAF’s work starts by making the legal system accessible to clients and concludes with a resolution that changes their lives and gets them back on track. With more than 100 full-time attorneys and staff providing their clients with comprehensive legal services, their advocacy results in such successes as gaining custody of a child, obtaining an order of protection against an abusive spouse, preventing an unfair eviction, or getting justice for a victim of consumer fraud.

As advocates for people living in poverty, LAF witnesses how structural racism thwarts the health and stability of low-income communities and perpetuates the cycle of poverty. Free legal aid can and should be a tool to fight racism in all its forms. LAF joins with legal aid organizations across the country to speak out and work against racial injustice, including racially-biased policing.