Volunteer Opportunities

Contact depaul.apalsa@gmail.com for more information.

1) Kan-Win needs interpreters to help out with their legal aid program. Meet attorneys and help someone in the community. If you have any language ability (other than English, obviously), sign up. They are particularly interested in anyone that can speak Korean, Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese), Japanese, or any other Asian language.

2) AABA is re-launching our partnership with DLA Piper's Asian Legal Services Clinic. Below is some more information and locations on the clinic. We need volunteers, especially from the APA legal community.

DLA Piper holds the clinic THE FIRST WEDNESDAY of every month. NO special training is necessary, as CVLS will be providing the comprehensive support.
The Asian Legal Services Clinic represents DLA Piper's 15 year partnership with Asian Human Services (AHS), Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation (COLS), and the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area (AABA) to aid the Asian American community. About 15 years ago, DLA Piper (then Rudnick & Wolfe) saw a need in the Asian American community of Chicago for pro bono legal assistance. Combining relationships with AHS, CVLS, and AABA, DLA Piper established the Asian Legal Services Clinic. AHS provides marketing to potential clients as well as translation services and a headquarters for the Clinic while CVLS provides the legal expertise regarding the family law issues and disputes most common to the Clinic's clients.

Attorneys and staff from DLA Piper and the AABA are responsible for evaluating and, when possible, taking the cases coming into the Clinic. Responsibilities range from performing initial intake interviews to taking a case all the way to resolution. Similarly, a volunteer attorney's time commitment ranges from a few hours conducting intake on the first Wednesday of the month to the period necessary to resolve the client's issue if a lawyer decides to take a case. Our goal is to have each participating attorney assigned at least one Clinic case. As always, the volunteer attorney will benefit from the strong support of the AHS and CVLS.

The Clinic is a great way for attorneys, staff, even law students, to gain experience with interviewing, client counseling, research, and writing. It also provides the opportunity for immediate courtroom experience. More importantly, the Clinic represents a chance to genuinely better our underrepresented clients' lives in a meaningful fashion. We hope that you can join us for an evening at the Clinic!