CBA Record July-August 2023

Chicago Bar Foundation Report

The CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project: 10 Years of Building Community and Access By Samoane Williams, Director, Justice Entrepreneurs Project

E very day, thousands of individuals throughout Illinois face legal problems but struggle to find affordable legal help. While many make too much to qualify for free legal ser vices from legal aid organizations, they also feel priced out of the traditional legal market based on the billable hour. Recognizing a growing need for affordable legal services among middle income people, particularly following the great recession of 2008, The Chicago Bar Foundation responded by developing the Justice Entrepreneurs Project. Through the JEP, the CBF harnessed the power of experimentation and innovation to respond to this sig nificant gap for those in the underserved middle market. The JEP is a legal incubator empowering lawyers to lead socially conscious law firms and innovative businesses. During an 18-month program, participants receive training, mentoring, and coaching on substantive areas of law as well as business development and related topics as they start and grow their own solo and small practices. Over 60 attorneys have graduated from the program since the JEP welcomed its first cohort in June 2013. These lawyers are com mitted to providing client-centered and high-quality legal services while also emphasizing approachability and collaboration between attorney and client.

but the idea of doing so seemed daunting. Without the JEP, I would not have been able to start my firm. It provided the busi ness know-how, tools, and mentorship to help me realize my goal. I’m grateful to the JEP for that.”

Garrett Thomas Garrett Thomas, owner of the Law Office of Garrett Thomas, LLC, focusing on criminal and quasi-crim inal matters, was a participant in the fifth cohort. He joined the JEP in May 2015, having never previously practiced law or run a business. “The JEP provided an invaluable ecosystem Ashley Rodriguez Ashley Rodriguez, founder and prin cipal attorney at Second Chance Law LLC, started the program in May 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her practice focuses on criminal defense matters and canna bis offense expungement. Rodriguez came to the JEP searching for sup

to launch a practice for a new attorney. The support it provided, the training, the subsidies, were vital. I don’t know that it would have been possible to [launch a successful firm] without the JEP.”

Mitha Rao One such attorney is Mitha Rao. Rao is the founder and managing attorney of Rao Legal, LLC, through which she provides business counseling and estate planning and administration services. Rao was part of the JEP’s May 2019 cohort. “After six and a half years in legal practice, I discov

port to create a successful law business but gained much more. She was in the JEP’s first fully remote cohort. Despite not having the in-person training and opportunities to engage with the broader network more directly, Rodriguez still identifies the JEP community as one the biggest benefits of the program. The JEP community is “close knit and everyone is willing to help each other,” she said. Thomas shares Rodriguez’s sentiments regarding the impact of

ered that the traditional legal model didn’t align with my person ality or values,” she said. “Joining the JEP enabled me to pivot my career in a direction that was more aligned with my personal growth and satisfaction. I wanted to build my own legal practice,

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