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Legal Aid Bureau—History and mission Mission The mission of the Legal Aid Bureau is to protect and strengthen families by providing equal access to justice for our most vulnerable citizens, including those who are impoverished, the elderly and victims of domestic violence. History The Legal Aid Bureau is one of the nation's first organizations devoted to the legal needs of the poor. The organization began in 1886 as the Protective Agency for Women and Children, when members of the Chicago Women's Club became concerned about the exploitation of women and children. Pioneering the concept of equal access to justice, these visionary women focused on enforcing the legal rights of those exploited by employers and landlords. Merging with the Bureau of Justice in 1905, the organization became the Legal Aid Society. Then in 1913, the Legal Aid Bureau (LAB) acquired its current name when it joined United Charities, now called Metropolitan Family Services. LAB's board of directors kept the name Legal Aid Society, which it has to this day. Since its beginning the Legal Aid Bureau has been a leading advocate for the needs of working-poor families and legislative reform that supports their well-being. Highlights include:
In 2006, the Legal Aid Bureau celebrated its 120th anniversary of supporting equal access to justice for all families and continues to advocate for families' needs in the areas of family and elder law and as of 2007, consumer law. In addition to legal representation, LAB has always been committed to systemic advocacy. To that end, LAB is actively involved in local and state bar associations and works with domestic violence service providers, the local court system and the Illinois legislature to insure that the laws and systems that impact its clients are responsive to the needs of low-income families and to victims of violence. "I believe thoroughly in these Legal Aid Societies; for they seem to me to solve one of the great difficulties of our civilization, that is, the problem of getting the law to aid those who most need such aid and are least able to pay for it." President Theodore Roosevelt, agreeing to serve as an honorary vice-president of the Legal Aid Society "I have made it a principle all my life not to accept honorary connection with any society in the work of which I could not be active, but I have heard so much in praise of the Legal Aid Society of Chicago that I am willing to break my rule and consent to have my name used as one of its honorary vice-presidents." Cordially and sincerely,
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