The Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP) is an incubator for recent law school graduates to start their own socially conscious law firms. The goal is to expand legal services to low and moderate income people by developing new models through which lawyers in solo or small practices can sustainably serve these clients.
JEP lawyers build sustainable, efficient and flexible practices by;
leveraging technology,
offering fixed fees and a la carte services, and
maximizing collaboration with their clients.
Borrowing principles from successful incubators in the business and technology fields, the JEP provides training, resources and support to participants in a collaborative office setting. The JEP also features a strong pro bono service component that places participants at partner legal aid organizations. This provides much-needed legal services for people in need while at the same time providing the JEP lawyers with vital experience and mentoring, and helping them build their networks.
The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF) makes this possible by bringing Chicago’s legal community together to support and collaborate in the program. The CBF leverages significant pro bono and in-kind donations to provide much of the training and resources and connects participants to a vast network of experience and expertise.
The JEP’s first group of 10 participants began in June 2013.