This summer, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts’ (AOIC) Access to Justice Division (ATJ Division) welcomed law students Garrett Forrest and Pammie Lavery for an internship focused on improving the experience of self-represented litigants in Illinois courts.
While their backgrounds and areas of interest differed, both interns spent the summer experiencing access to justice work from multiple perspectives. From answering court users’ questions through Illinois Court Help (ILCH) to observing courtrooms and working alongside judges and AOIC staff, they worked on projects supporting court users across Illinois.
From the classroom to Illinois Courts
Garrett Forrest is a first-year law student at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Before joining the ATJ Division, he spent a year with Illinois JusticeCorps helping self-represented litigants navigate the court process. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Garrett’s prior experience proved particularly valuable during his work with ILCH. His supervisors noted his ability to quickly learn the work, manage a high volume of requests, and communicate effectively with people facing difficult situations. One of his supervisors, Avani Patel, shared, “Garrett was a huge help to Illinois Court Help this summer and we are definitely going to miss him. He has a great way of speaking with people that are in stressful situations and did a great job of helping almost 250 court users.”
For Garrett, the experience reinforced an ability he hopes to carry throughout his legal career.
"This experience has solidified my impression that I'm good at explaining complex legal systems to people who don't know much about the law," Garrett said. "I'm not sure where my career will take me, but I want to make sure that I'm always using that gift."
Garrett also worked on a project examining the experience of petitioners seeking orders of protection. The work gave him an opportunity to conduct interviews and apply legal analysis to questions about how courts can better serve people seeking protection. He identified that project, along with his ILCH service, as two of the accomplishments he was most proud of during the summer.
Connecting court experience with advocacy
Pammie Lavery is a second-year student at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She previously interned with the Center for Disability and Elder Law, helping clients navigate healthcare and disability rights issues. She earned her bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Purdue University.
Throughout the summer, Pammie used the experiences of self-represented litigants to help inform the projects she worked on, which led to opportunities to work closely with the Probate Court in Cook County and research issues affecting Illinoisans with disabilities. Pammie spent time observing court each week, building relationships and learning directly from judges and court personnel.
"I have appreciated the opportunity to speak with judges and gain a better understanding of their process, particularly from the point of view of advocating for self-represented litigants," Pammie said.
Her time assisting court users through ILCH also gave her a deeper understanding of what it is like to navigate the justice system without an attorney.
"I had an idea of how difficult this process can be for SRLs, but I do not think I fully understood the depth of how convoluted the legal process can be for individuals not involved in the legal system," she said. "Having this perspective will allow me to better identify gaps in understanding when speaking to future clients."
Pammie's supervisor, August Hieber, highlighted her initiative, independence, professionalism, openness to feedback, and commitment to disability-related advocacy.
"Pammie's work during this internship will have a direct, positive impact on litigants accessing Illinois courts, especially in the visual work product that was produced," Hieber said.
A summer of learning and impact
For Garrett and Pammie, the summer provided an opportunity to take what they have learned in law school and apply it to the everyday work of serving Illinois court users. Through direct service, research, court observation, and project work, they gained experience that will follow them into their legal careers while making meaningful contributions to the ATJ Division of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.
Their curiosity, professionalism, and commitment to helping court users made Garrett and Pammie valuable members of the team, and the ATJ Division is grateful for all they contributed this summer.