Imagine the most important meeting of your life. Your health, your safety and your financial well-being depend on its outcome. Now imagine that meeting was going to be held in a language you don’t speak. How would that feel?

Navigating the justice system without legal counsel is like participating in a meeting like this without a translator — it is terrifying and overwhelming.

We know many of you reading this are lawyers. Think of the long nights you spent buried in those thick volumes trying to learn the language of the law.

Many Illinoisans who haven’t had the luxury of law school need to function in court without speaking the language.  That’s when IEJF grantees like Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) step in.

ILAO uses technology to lower barriers to the law so that people can easily understand their legal options, make informed decisions, and when necessary, represent themselves in court. Through its website, people can access user-friendly online legal information and services and connect to the best help that is available to them.

Learning legalese shouldn’t be the barrier that prevents people from getting retribution for the harm done to them. Legal aid helps disadvantaged Illinoisans navigate the linguistic labyrinth of the law.