Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
| Formation | 1969 |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Chicago, Illinois |
| Services | Legal services |
| Website | www |
The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. is a consortium of American law firms in Chicago that provides legal services in civil rights cases, with a focus on four major projects: the Employment Opportunity Project, the Law Project (previously the Community Economic Development Law Project), the Fair Housing Project, and the Hate Crimes Project. Recent activity has explored avenues to promote and protect civil rights in the Chicago metropolitan area through education, healthcare delivery, the environment, and voting rights.
The mission of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. is to protect and promote civil rights by bringing the strength and prestige of the private bar to bear on the problems of poverty and discrimination.
The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. was established in 1969 as a public interest consortium of Chicago law firms to provide pro bono legal services in significant civil rights cases. From nineteen firms in 1969, it has grown to 49 firms today. The majority of services are performed in Cook County, but the committee's influence in some projects is felt throughout the Midwest. Each year, over 18,000 hours of professional legal services, with an estimated value of approximately $8.5 million, is donated from our pool of over 1,000 volunteer lawyers.
The National Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy, with the initial purpose of providing legal representation to Black people and civil rights workers in the Southern United States for whom lawyers were otherwise unavailable.
The Kerner Commission’s 1968 report, concluding that the nation was “moving toward two societies, one black, one white – separate and unequal, ” made a series of recommendations to promote racial integration and large-scale improvement in the quality of life of African-Americans. Meanwhile, by 1969, inner city riots in Chicago and other northern urban centers showed that frustration over racial discrimination was prevalent throughout the nation, and required specific, local attention.
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