A man stood in front of a judge and insisted that the child wasn’t his. The child’s mother openly agreed. Yet once again, the court didn’t overturn the erroneous paternity orders. He had been trying for almost twenty years.

Finally, the man found Chicago Legal Clinic, an IEJF grantee. Together, they were able to get the court to finally order a DNA paternity test.

The results proved the man wasn’t the father. The court dropped the paternity orders, but still kept the support orders in place. The man was shocked and heartbroken.

The Chicago Legal Clinic’s Parentage and Child Support Pro Se Advice Desk took on the case and they were finally able to get the court to vacate the support order. After two decades, justice was finally served.

Cases like this show how a little misinformation can have a profound impact on a person’s life. Civil legal aid helps undo the damage other people’s errors can make.  

Chicago Legal Clinic is a premier provider of community-based quality legal services to the underserved and disadvantaged in the Chicago area. The IEJF has provided funding for the Clinic’s Parentage & Child Support Pro Se Advice Desk since 2008.  Last year, the Advice Desk provided 1,120 brief legal services to 722 individuals at the Richard J Daley Center in downtown Chicago.