In furtherance of the Kane County Law Library & Self Help Legal Center’s mission of promoting open and equal access to legal information, and supporting the vision of creating informed consumers with realistic expectations of the legal system, the Divorce & Family Law Call-In Service was initially envisioned and instituted in 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic. In no way is the Kane County Law Library & Self Help Legal Center legally obligated to provide this service.
Service Audience / Criteria for Patron:
Those wishing to utilize the Divorce & Family Law Help Call-In service must meet the following criteria:
- The legal matter(s) for which the individual is seeking assistance must be occurring in Kane County and must be of a family law nature. Family law issues may include: domestic violence, divorce, child support, adoption, visitation.
- The individual should not have current legal representation, whether it be private, through a legal aid organization, or through any other means.
Format and schedule:
Every Thursday morning from 11:00am-noon that the Kane County Judicial Center is open, barring pre-scheduled cancellations or unforeseen events.
This is a call-in service. No appointments will be made.
Lawyers speak with each caller for roughly 15 minutes.
Interpreters:
This service has no associated Spanish language interpreter.
Volunteer Lawyer Parameters:
Volunteering lawyers must be licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and be currently registered and in good standing with the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission.
Within the confines of this limited-scope service, there is no lawyer-client privilege created. Volunteer lawyers may give legal guidance, coaching, and make referrals. Lawyers will not appear in court on an individual’s behalf and are not obligated to extend representation beyond this limited consultation (IL Rules of Professional Conduct 6.5).
Service Limitations:
Individuals may not utilize the Divorce & Family Law Help Call-In service more than four (4) times in a calendar year, except through the express consent of a volunteering lawyer and a Law Library staff member.
The Kane County Law Library & Self Help Legal Center staff has the right to deny service to anyone who is disruptive or disrespectful to the volunteering lawyer or library staff, or who does not otherwise follow the parameters of this policy.
Law Library staff will not share the names of the volunteering lawyers prior to the time of the service.
Revised October 24, 2024
