Celebrating Chicago Advocate Legal’s 10 Year Anniversary

For the past decade, Chicago Advocate Legal, NFP (CAL) attorneys have provided affordable and accessible legal representation to individuals and families in the Chicago metropolitan area with sliding-scale, income-based fees. Private firms typically charge individuals $5,000 or more in retainer fees just to begin a case. Too many individuals and families, faced with severe family and housing turmoil, are unable to retain private attorneys and are left without any representation. This puts their custody rights and housing rights at grave risk. CAL is often their only option.

Through programs such as our Mental Health Justice Initiative, Empowering Fathers Program, Young Families Legal Program, and the Preventative Law Initiative, CAL attorneys represent underserved communities, helping individuals and families move from crisis to stability, and creating long-term impact that extends far beyond the courtroom.

As CAL celebrates ten years of service, we are building partnerships with corporations that understand investing in justice-centered solutions strengthens communities, supports workforce stability, and aligns with meaningful corporate social responsibility goals.

Goal

Seeking to raise $75,000 by October 2026
Campaign timeframe is from March 9–October 8, 2026

Event Details

Date: October 8, 2026

Time: 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Tickets: $80 each; $150 for 2 tickets; $280 for 4 tickets
Each ticket includes entry to CAL’s 10 Year Anniversary Celebration, 1 drink ticket, a buffet style dinner, and 2 raffle tickets

Audience: 150 attendees, including legal professionals, social work/non-profit professionals, and South Shore/South Chicago community members.

Our Story

Chicago Advocate Legal, NFP (CAL) was founded in April 2016 with the mission of strengthening Chicago families and individuals through affordable legal representation and legal education.

Over the past 10 years, CAL has represented thousands of Chicagoans using sliding-scale, flat fees that take into account the client’s income and case type. CAL also provides free legal representation through its Empowering Fathers Program.

CAL seeks to anticipate and prevent legal problems and litigation before they occur through its Preventative Law Initiative (PLI).

Your partnership will provide:

$20,000 towards the Empowering Fathers Program to provide free representation to 10 additional low and middle income fathers in child support and custody disputes by December 2027.
$20,000 towards the Mental Health Justice Initiative to provide free representation to 10 low and middle income individuals suffering from mental health trauma in custody disputes by December of 2027.
$20,000 towards the Preventative Law Initiative to perform 25 legal clinics throughout Cook County, IL in 2027 and 2028.
$15,000 towards the Young Families Program to provide free representation of 10 young families to support co-parenting and uncontested parenting agreement.

Our Programs

Preventative Law Initiative (PLI) is aimed at adapting the concept of Preventative Law to family law for Cook County residents. It is a legal education project with the goal of operating legal education programs at high schools, colleges and community and social service organizations in Cook County, Illinois.

The Empowering Fathers Program partners with Chicago CAPS and other non-profit organizations to provide free legal representation, workforce development and tax preparation services to low-income fathers with child support and parentage (a.k.a. custody) disputes.

CAL’s Mental Health Justice Initiative provides free and sliding-scale representation to parents who experienced mental health trauma and are unable to afford guardian ad litem fees, therapy costs, evaluations, and various other unexpected fees when mental health is at issue in a family law case.

The Young Families Legal Program provides limited scope representation with an emphasis on co-parenting to young, unmarried parents with uncontested or moderately contested custody and child support disputes.

Your Support Matters

To expand our services, CAL is seeking to raise funds for the following reasons:

To hire support staff, including a full-time paralegal dedicated to supporting our attorneys with cases, so our attorneys can spend less time performing administrative tasks and more time focused on providing high-quality legal representation.
To fund our Executive Director position. From grant writing, to building partnerships, to supervising attorneys and handling a caseload, our Executive Director builds towards CAL’s future while also managing day-to-day operations.
To begin renovations on our building at 2320 E. 79th St., located in the heart of the South Chicago community.

Why Sponsor CAL

Sponsoring CAL’s 10 Year Anniversary offers a powerful opportunity to support justice, equity, and family stability while gaining meaningful visibility among Chicago’s civic, nonprofit, and business leaders.

As a sponsor, your organization will be recognized as a champion of equitable access to legal services for underserved families, directly supporting programs that strengthen parents, protect children, and stabilize communities. Sponsorship provides high-impact brand exposure through event signage, program recognition, digital promotion, and on-site acknowledgment—while positioning your company as a valued-driven leader committed to social responsibility.

Your investment not only elevates your brand exposure, but also fuels the next decade of CAL’s mission by funding critical staff, programs, and community-based legal services that create lasting change for Chicago families.

Sponsorship levels

🏛️ Justice Champion Presenting Sponsor: $10,000
Positions the top sponsors as visible leaders advancing equitable access to justice and celebrating a decade of CAL’s impact.

⚖️ Preventative Law Leadership Sponsor: $5,000
Emphasizes leadership, social responsibility, and long-term community investment

🤝 Empowering Fathers Justice Sponsor: $2,500
Highlights partnership with CAL in strengthening families through partnership with community-based non-profit organizations.

🌱 Access to Justice Sponsor: $1,000
Directly ties the sponsorship to CAL’s mission of making legal representation accessible to underserved Chicago families and individuals.

Join CAL in celebrating 10 years of service and ensuring the next decade of justice for Chicago families.

Support equitable access to justice for families who cannot afford private-market attorneys
Empower parents to remain active in their children’s lives
Align your brand with corporate social responsibility, justice, and family stability

For more information about sponsorships and ticket packages, please contact Brian Gilbert, CAL Board President at bgilbert@chicagoadvocatelegal.com

Chicago Advocate Legal 10-Year Anniversary

Chicago's non-profit law firm serving the underserved

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