Hotline Number 312-738-9200
February 2018
The CARPLS Love Issue - We All Deserve to Be Celebrated
Love is in the air! We are sharing our gratitude for making our mission to improve lives through access to justice possible. When our clients call us in a crisis, we quickly respond with solutions each time. Self-care and recognition of our clients, staff, volunteers and community is important. Whether it's by giving expert advice, connecting clients to resources, or pro bono representation in court, legal aid organizations break down barriers to justice, create a fairer legal system for all of us, and deserve to be sweetly celebrated.

Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand.--Confucious
CARPLS Loves Our Clients
They're At The Heart of What We Do
Marlene had called CARPLS several times before for help with consumer law issues after her husband had lost his job. Her family had fallen behind on their debts, including their rent. However, when her husband found work again, she thought things were looking up and they began to catch up on their bills. As Marlene was about to pay off the last month of outstanding rent, she became distressed to receive an unexpected court summons for an eviction case. She called CARPLS unsure of how to reach a case settlement without ending up evicted and creating a record. Our attorney immediately walked her through how to best negotiate with her landlord's attorney. Her resilience paid off: she won a continuance on the case, paid the balance of the rent, and saved her home.
CARPLS Loves Our Donors
Their Love For Our Mission Makes Our Work Possible
Our donors' dedication to everyday justice makes a true impact in the lives of thousands each year. Your support helps those in need to find immediate legal solutions to protect their housing, families, employment, or even safety . This past year, the generosity of CARPLS donors helped provide nearly 54,000 free legal consultations on our hotline and at our court-based advice desks. Whether through direct donations, sponsorships, donating stocks, in-kind gifts, or recommending us for a cy pres award, we are truly grateful for the many ways our donors support our mission. Thank you for making our work possible.
CARPLS Loves Innovation & Technology
New Tech and Legal Aid Are a Perfect Match
CARPLS Supervising Attorney Karla Chrobak attended LSC's 2018 Innovations in Technology Conference in New Orleans, LA in January. The conference focused on ways to use legal technology to benefit legal aid organizations and increase access to justice.

"I was pleasantly surprised to see the interest in our hotline technology. It's clear that our hotline model is considered one of the best in the country. CARPLS is unique in that a client's first contact is with an attorney, which makes for an efficient model and a better client experience," Karla shares.

"Finally we should all send a collective THANK YOU to our counterparts in Puerto Rico, who in the face of catastrophe, have remained open and committed to the cause in basically unworkable circumstances."
Attorneys for Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico, Inc. set up temporary shop in a FEMA center in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
CARPLS Loves Our Staff & Volunteers
Their Service Warms Our Hearts!
There is a reason that our attorneys seem to be experts on everyday legal issues. We are made up of a dedicated cadre of 32 tireless staffers--including 24 lawyers with 583 years of collective legal experience (averaging 24 years a piece). We are also proud of our nearly 100 volunteers who donated 3,900 hours of their time last year directly to clients. We are grateful to our team's commitment to educating, empowering and bridging the legal divide.

If you are an attorney interested in volunteering on the CARPLS hotline, check out our volunteer page on our website.
CARPLS | 17 N. State Street | Suite 1850 | Chicago | Illinois | 60602 | carpls.org