Publication Date

6-2016

Abstract

Records of the Illinois Technology Center, 1999-2005

Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) was founded in March of 2001 as the Illinois Technology Center for Law and the Public Interest. Initial funding was provided by The Chicago Bar Foundation, the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, and IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.

The mission of the Tech Center was to successfully use technology in innovative ways to increase access to justice by streamlining the delivery of free and pro bono services to the poor, and to provide easy to understand legal information and assistance to the public. In July of 2001, the Tech Center launched three websites for each of the communities it served: lower-income Illinoisans seeking legal help (IllinoisLawHelp.org), legal services attorneys and staff members (IllinoisLegalAid.org), and pro bono attorneys and legal professionals (IllinoisProBono.org). Legal information on these three websites was contributed by members of the Illinois legal services community and managed by Tech Center staff. The websites featured training manuals, searchable directories of free legal services and lawyer referral programs, discussion forums for legal aid advocates, searchable databases of pro bono opportunities, and free access to online manuals and forms.

The Tech Center was created by twelve partner organizations as a statewide collaboration of Illinois legal services providers, funding entities, and private bar and law schools. The Tech Center was housed at Chicago-Kent College of Law, which provided space and technical resources to the organization, in addition to financial support, until 2005. In March 2005, the Tech Center was incorporated as an independent nonprofit, moved to a new location, and became known as Illinois Legal Aid Online.

Related collection(s): Records of the Center for Access to Justice & Technology

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