In furtherance of the Kane County Law Library & Self Help Legal Centers 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 Walk-In Service was envisioned and instituted in partnership with the Peskind Law Firm in 2017. In no way is the Kane County Law Library & Self Help Legal Center legally obligated to provide this service.
Service Audience / Criteria:
Those wishing to utilize the Divorce & Family Law Help Walk-In program 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.
- The individual(s) should not have current legal representation, whether it be private, through a legal aid organization, or by any other means.
Family law issues may include: domestic violence, divorce, child support, adoption, visitation Priority is given to self-represented litigants who have been sent by a judge to utilize the service and must immediately return to court that day.
Format and schedule:
Every Monday morning that the judicial center is open, from 8:30am-10:30am
This is a walk-in service. No appointments will be made.
Attorneys meet with attendees for roughly 15 minutes.
Interpreters:
This service has an associated Spanish language interpreter.
Volunteer Attorney Parameters:
Within the confines of this limited-scope service, there is no attorney-client privilege created.
Volunteer attorneys will assist with legal guidance, document review, and referrals.
Attorneys will not appear in court on an individuals behalf and are not obligated to extend representation beyond this limited consultation. (Rules of Professional Conduct 6.5)
Service Limitations: Individuals may not utilize the Divorce & Family Law Help Walk-In Service more than four (4) times in a calendar year, except through the express consent of a volunteering attorney and 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 attorney or library staff, or who does not otherwise follow the parameters of this policy and/or the associated Limited Representation Disclaimer.
No call-in service is permitted at the walk-in service unless through the express consent of the Law Library Director and the volunteering attorney.
Law library staff will not share the names of the volunteering attorneys until the event time and only if the inquiring patron is on site.
January 6, 2023 rev. March 8, 2024, rev. May 1, 2024
