About Life Span
What is Life Span?
Life Span "empowers survivors of domestic and sexual violence to demand safety as a human right through client-centered services and leads social change through accountability, community engagement, and systemic advocacy." It began in 1978, when a group of women who saw that women and children experiencing domestic violence lacked access to services formed a 24-hour crisis hotline, run entirely by volunteers. The hotline grew into support groups and paid staff who counseled survivors and child witnesses to abuse. Life Span pressed the state to pass the Illinois Domestic Violence Act in 1982, and its staff and volunteers then began accompanying survivors to court to obtain Orders of Protection. Today its lawyers, paralegals, advocates and counselors give free legal representation in orders of protection, divorce, parentage and civil no contact cases, advocacy in criminal court, immigration legal services, counseling for survivors and their children, and support for survivors of human trafficking. The U.S. Department of Justice has termed Life Span's programs a "promising practice". Life Span says its clients reach their goals for legal services 87% of the time, while only 17% of victims using general legal services at Chicago's Domestic Violence Court follow their cases through to the end. In fiscal 2025 it served 2,774 clients, provided 33,089.5 hours of direct services and educated 5,070 community members. All of its services are free.
Where will I work?
At one of two offices, downtown Chicago at 70 E. Lake Street or downtown Des Plaines, a northwest suburb near O'Hare, on a hybrid schedule. Both current postings are hybrid remote positions after onboarding and orientation training, with "Remote work up to 16 hours per week at the discretion of Life Span": in a 40-hour week, at least three days in the office. The Chicago office is close to five CTA rail lines and Metra; the Des Plaines office is steps from its Metra station and has free building parking. Legal staff travel to courthouses around Cook County, including those in Skokie and Rolling Meadows, where Life Span staff were instrumental in establishing special criminal domestic violence court calls in the 1980s.
What is the Life Span team like?
Life Span has 48 employees across its two offices, speaking languages including Spanish, Polish, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Telugu, Urdu and Korean, and it is proud that "many of our clients are served by professionals who speak their language and understand their culture." Staff tenure averages 8.3 years, which Life Span calls an unusually high retention rate among nonprofit agencies. Its legal staff work with counselors in the same agency, so that clients get one coordinated response. Every staff attorney gets mentorship and guidance, especially at entry level, and in-house and external training and CLEs are encouraged from the start of employment. Both current postings, a bilingual English-Spanish Staff Attorney and a Human Trafficking Project Coordinator, state a starting salary of $70,000, and bilingual staff may receive an additional $2,000 a year. Life Span is a qualifying employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Work-Life Balance
Every Life Span posting lists "generous vacation, sick, and miscellaneous leave; nineteen paid holidays; Summer Fridays". Life Span doesn't publish which months Summer Fridays run, whether the Fridays are full or half days, or how many vacation days staff get. The standard week is 40 hours, Monday to Friday, and some roles occasionally need evening or weekend work. Remote work of up to 16 hours a week means up to two days a week without a commute.
Perks and Benefits
- Nineteen paid holidays
- Summer Fridays
- Vacation, sick and miscellaneous leave
- Hybrid work: remote up to 16 hours a week after onboarding
- Health, dental and vision insurance
- Life and disability insurance
- A 403(b) retirement plan
- Pre-tax public transit benefits
- Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Account plans
- An Employee Assistance Program
- Professional development, including training and CLEs for attorneys
- An additional $2,000 a year available to bilingual staff
- A qualifying employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Starting salary published on every posting