Generosity Times Two

You know we love promoting the generous endeavors of those in the legal profession. We love it even more when an organization raises the bar by creating a program that serves up generosity in a double dose. Recently our friends at the Chicago Bar Foundation announced a new incubator program that does just that. The Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP) is designed to pair recent law school graduates looking for jobs in a diminishing market with people of modest means in need of legal assistance.

Like similar incubator programs across the country, the JEP will offer law school graduates from the class of 2009 forward the opportunity to create their own solo practices through a structured program providing resources, offering mentorship, and teaching new lawyers how to serve a segment of the population for whom affordable help is not always readily available. At the same time, these recent law school graduates will learn how to run their own practices, utilizing technology that offers access to resources they wouldn’t typically have as solo practitioners.

The CBF’s overarching mission is to provide access to justice. In this case, they are providing access to those who earn too much to qualify for legal aid but don’t have the means to afford the services of most law firms. So it makes perfect sense to harness the service-minded energy of recent law school graduates while also offering them a place in the new legal job landscape. The CBF is giving back to their own while also creating a built in pay-it-forward initiative that’s sure to leave these new lawyers feeling good about their work while benefitting an underserved portion of the population. Brilliant!

Part of the funding for the JEP will come from the CBF, with additional funding hopefully attained through grants and area law schools. What say you, Chicago-area law schools? Are you in? As for everyone else – who will create the next incubator and where? Be sure you let us know!