About Legal Aid Chicago
What is Legal Aid Chicago?
"Legal Aid Chicago seeks justice for people living in poverty. Through litigation and advocacy, our team of full-time lawyers and staff fight to secure individual rights to affordable housing, basic healthcare, fair working conditions, protection from abuse, and economic stability." It gives free legal help in civil cases to people in Chicago and suburban Cook County, and describes itself as one of the nation's largest providers of free civil legal services for people living in poverty. Its roots are in the War on Poverty: in 1966 the federal Office of Economic Opportunity funded two Chicago legal aid organizations, which later merged to form the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, now Legal Aid Chicago, and the Legal Services Corporation remains a significant funder. For 2025 its site reports more than 13,700 individual legal matters handled, an overall case success rate above 93%, and a total financial impact of $31,785,000 in increased assets and income and reduced debt. Its practice groups defend tenants against unwarranted evictions, fight mortgage foreclosures, debt collection and consumer fraud, represent survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, advocate for students and parents, take on wage theft and employment discrimination, assist human trafficking survivors and non-citizen crime victims, and advocate for residents of long-term care facilities.
Where will I work?
In the Loop, on a hybrid schedule. For many years Legal Aid Chicago hosted satellite offices in communities from Lawndale and Englewood to Uptown and Pilsen, with additional offices in Evanston and Harvey, before consolidating into "one centralized location in the Chicago Loop", today at 200 N. LaSalle Street. Every posting says "Legal Aid Chicago offers a hybrid work environment" without setting a number of office days, and roles require residency in the Chicago metropolitan area of Illinois. Roles can involve travel to the communities, courthouses and clinics Legal Aid Chicago serves, and in its two medical-legal partnerships, with the Cook County Health and Hospitals System and the UChicago Medicine Trauma Center, legal aid staff work together with medical professionals.
What is the Legal Aid Chicago team like?
The site counts 206 full-time attorneys, staff and fellows in 2025. They work in practice groups for Housing, Consumer, Children and Families, Public Benefits, Immigrants and Workers' Rights, and Long-Term Care, a structure chosen so that "case handlers develop deeper expertise in their practice areas and collaborate more readily to help people with multiple legal problems". A Client Screening Group is the central entry point for people seeking help, and a Pro Bono and Community Partnerships Group manages more than twenty volunteer-based projects, including four community-based legal clinics. Staff attorney, intake attorney and paralegal positions are part of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, UAW Local 2320, and the collective bargaining agreement's salary scale sets pay "based on paid experience". Every posting publishes its budgeted range: $70,822–$77,872 for staff and intake attorneys and $46,675–$51,428 for paralegals, each reflecting up to ten years of credited experience, $95,204–$105,204 for a supervisory attorney and $75,000–$85,000 for a grants financial manager. CEO and Executive Director Katherine W. Shank joined Legal Aid Chicago after graduating from law school, representing clients in family law, bankruptcy and subsidized housing eviction defense; she went on to concentrate on family law, domestic violence and custody matters as a supervising attorney, and served as Director of Volunteer Services and as Deputy Director and Chief of Staff before becoming CEO. As a 501(c)(3), Legal Aid Chicago is an eligible employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Work-Life Balance
Union-represented staff get "15 vacation days and 18 sick days accrued within the first year of employment" and "19 paid holidays, including four (4) floating holidays"; the supervisory attorney and grants manager postings offer 21 vacation days with the same holidays. Not counting sick days, that is 34 to 40 days off a year. New parents get "Twelve weeks of Paid Parental Leave at 100% of the salary after six months of employment", and medical cover starts on day one.
Perks and Benefits
- 15 vacation days in the first year (21 on non-union roles)
- 19 paid holidays, including four floating holidays
- 18 sick days a year
- Twelve weeks of paid parental leave at full salary after six months
- Medical, dental and vision insurance from the first day of employment
- A 403(b) plan with an employer contribution after one year (a 401(a) plan after three months on non-union roles)
- $50,000 of basic life and AD&D insurance at no cost ($100,000 on non-union roles)
- Employee Assistance Program resources at no cost
- Monthly internet reimbursement
- An additional stipend for bilingual attorneys and paralegals
- An eligible employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Salary ranges published on every posting