CBA Record March-April 2023

JEP Leans into What Law School Leaves Out Daissy Dominguez, who participated in one of the first cohorts in 2013, founded Dominguez Legal Justice Center, LLC, an immigration law practice. Upon graduat ing from law school, she says she “wanted to work for legal aid and serve low- to moderate-income people, but when I heard about JEP and their mission, I thought ‘I can do it on my own with my own practice.’” Her firm’s mission is to help families reunite or stay together. She notes that the immigration system can be overwhelming to clients and that it is very rewarding to preserve family unity. Dominguez says she knew it would be challenging to start her firm: “It took about a year and a half to get the ball rolling, and then things fell into place. The number of clients and my income started to grow. All the hard work had a snowball effect. I used to work late into the evening – now at 5 o’clock, I’m done. Even though there is a lot more work now, I can manage it more effectively than when creating everything from scratch.” Dominguez continues, “I don’t think I would have been able to do it on my own, or it would have taken a lot longer. Law school teaches a lot but not about busi ness, such as how to charge fees, market yourself, and find mentors. The JEP gave me the foundation to get my firm going.” Relationship-Driven Practice Terra Gross, a member of the January 2021 cohort and founder of Attuned Legal, LLC, was attracted to the incuba tor program because she felt she could “reconnect with my roots, be authentic, community-driven, and work on con flict resolution – be human relationship driven rather than have a ‘buttoned-up’ perspective.” Her firm works with rent ers, property owners, and entrepreneurs. Like Dominguez, Gross says she would not have started her own firm without the JEP. “Absolutely not,” she says. “As the first lawyer in my family, law was intimi dating. My only exposure was law school

Justice Entrepreneurs Project Celebrates a Decade of Innovative Lawyer Training By Amy Cook The November 2022 JEP graduation class included, from left: Aaron Korson, Chicago Family Attorneys, LLC; Daniel Johnson, Johnson Justice Center, LLC; Amanda Carey, The Carey Center for Justice; Daniel Bruce, The Law Office of Daniel T. Bruce; and Lee Ayers, The Law Office of Lee A. Ayers.

T he Justice Entrepreneurs Project, a Chicago Bar Foundation program, was established in 2013 with two complementary goals: to train and sup port lawyers who want to start solo or small firms, with the stipulation that a significant portion of their practice serve low- and moderate-income clients who often struggle to find affordable legal ser vices. The CBF noted that there is a large gap in the legal service delivery system for the population who earn too much to qualify for legal aid but not enough to pay market rates for traditional legal services. At the same time, new and seasoned lawyers alike are increasingly looking for nontraditional paths within the legal pro fession. These lawyers either finished law school knowing they wanted to start their own firm, or they became disenchanted with the traditional practice of law. Start ing one’s own business comes with its own challenges, but lawyers gravitate to the JEP for greater autonomy over their work life, including choosing which clients to accept, flexibility in their work schedule, and fee setting. With two cohorts a year, the JEP’s

18-month incubator program helps par ticipants develop their practices while receiving training, mentoring, and other support on business and legal issues. They also receive office space and other infrastructure as they get started. Each program is broken into three 6-month modules. During the first module, par ticipants perform approximately 20 hours of pro bono work per week with partner legal aid organizations. At the same time, participants receive training and coach ing on business and other issues needed to start a solo/small practice. Participants establish their own independent prac tices and begin handling cases in areas traditionally needed by low- and middle income people and small businesses, and strive to offer flat fees for their services. During the second and third modules, participants increase their caseloads and continue to receive training, mentoring, and coaching on business and legal issues. At the end of 18 months, participants have a viable practice that they can con tinue to develop outside of the incubation period while remaining part of the grow ing JEP network.

12 March/April 2023