Dasha Pates: ‘JusticeCorps members are often the only people that the general public can go to for legal help’

Dasha Pates, 23, of Oswego is an Illinois JusticeCorps Fellow and is currently working at the Kane County Law Library. She received the first-ever Illinois John Lewis Youth Leadership Award for her work improving access to legal services. (Sandy Bressner)

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – When Dasha Pates was a little girl growing up in the Philippines, she recalled playing in her late grandmother’s law office.

Her mother came to the U.S. alone in 2006, while Pates stayed in the Philippines with her grandma. She came to the U.S. in 2009 when she was 9, first living in Evanston, then Wheaton, then Oswego.

Pates – pronounced PAH-tes – now 23, is following in grandma’s footsteps: to be pre-law at Aurora University, then to be an Illinois JusticeCorps Fellow serving at the Kane County Law Library and Self-Help Legal Center at the Judicial Center in St. Charles before starting law school this fall.

She lives with her mother and stepfather in Oswego. Her grandfather, who came in 2000, lives in Chicago. Her grandmother came to the U.S. in 2012 for breast cancer treatment, but passed away from it in 2013.

“It wasn’t like my dead-set career path,” Pates said of pursuing her studies in law. “But I always leaned towards it because of her.”

First John Lewis Award

Pates’ drive and talent has earned her some serious recognition.

Pates received the first-ever Illinois John Lewis Youth Leadership Award. The National Association of Secretaries of State created the award “to honor civic-minded young people who demonstrate leadership abilities, have a passion for social justice, and are motivated to improve the quality of life in their community.”

As a JusticeCorps Fellow, Pates is a volunteer who assists law library patrons trying to represent themselves in civil legal matters, such as evictions, divorces and child custody cases.

“Whether it is helping people get on a Zoom court call, e-file their documents or direct them to one of our free legal aid programs, Dasha always puts her best foot forward to help the person to the fullest.”

—  Ellen Schmid, law librarian

“The work that we do affects so many lives. And missing one court hearing could mean someone loses their home, or not submitting court forms properly could mean someone loses the right to see their child,” Pates said in a speech when she accepted award last month from Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.

“In the face of a complicated legal system, JusticeCorps members are often the only people that the general public can go to for legal help,” Pates had said.

Law Library Director Hall? Eichert and law librarian Ellen Schmid nominated Pates for the award.

“Dasha helps bridge the gap in legal aid in any way she can, through her leadership, language skills, and legal information,” Eichert said. “We’re just so proud of Dasha.”

Pates started her one-year of volunteer service Aug. 21, 2023. It was not long before her skills and leadership became apparent, Schmid said.

“Dasha goes above and beyond with the assistance she provides our self-represented litigants visiting our law library every day,” Schmid said. “Whether it is helping people get on a Zoom court call, e-file their documents or direct them to one of our free legal aid programs, Dasha always puts her best foot forward to help the person to the fullest.”

The John Lewis Award also recognized Pates for her work as president of the Aurora University Pre-Law Honor Society. She created its first Women in Law Panel in response to concerns from women students that they lacked role models in a male-dominated profession.

‘Hall? warned me’

When Pates came to begin serving as a JusticeCorps Fellow, Eichert made some things clear right from the get.

“Hall? warned me that it would be hard. Some people, their legal cases are so complex, they really do need an attorney,” Pates said.

“There is only so much we can do in that situation. That’s one of the hardest things is when people self-represented and they’ve had a legal battle going on for years,” Pates said. “And they can’t afford an attorney. And there’s nothing else you can do but provide information.”

Among the cases Pates assisted was a Spanish-speaking woman who was trying to get legal guardianship of her dead sister’s three children.

“She was still in the process of grieving and the three children had just recently lost their mother and she could barely speak English,” Pates said. “We were able to help at least get started with the guardianship case by referring her to ILAO – Illinois Legal Aid Online.”

The online service helps in civil cases with instructions and forms.

No one was objecting to her becoming a guardian to her sister’s children, she just had no idea how to get started, Pates said.

As she speaks four languages, Philippino, English, Cebuano — a regional language in the Philippines — and Spanish, Pates helped the woman in her native language.

Illinois JusticeCorps

Stacey Weiler, director of grants and Access to Justice Programs for the Illinois Bar Foundation, said Pates “is truly incredible.”

“Dasha has been such an asset to our program this year,” Weiler said. “She is absolutely a go-getter. … She brings energy and is thoughtful and works hard. And to help people in their first language is an incredible skill and amazing resource for people to get that welcoming in a scary, intimidating place.”

The Illinois Bar Foundation is the charitable arm of the Illinois Bar Association, Weiler said. AmeriCorps is a program of the Illinois JusticeCorps, which is also supported by the Bar Foundation.

“We recruit and train and support AmeriCorps service for a year of volunteerism,” weiler said. “And we do that in courthouses around the state for legal information and procedural information for people without lawyers. … It’s one of the ways we increase access to the judicial system.”

Illinois JusticeCorps started in 2012, eventually placing the first volunteer in Cook County in 2014.

“Then we expanded statewide in 17 circuit courts – including Kane County,” Weiler said. “The Illinois Bar Foundation made it possible through funding from AmeriCorps … which gets a federal funding stream like the Peace Corps. We are a strategic partner with the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice.”

Those who participate, such as Pates, do the program as a gap year, getting experience and exposure to the court system before continuing their education, Weiler said.

JusiceCorps fellows get a financial stipend to assist in their ability to volunteer, she said.

“We are really lucky there are people giving back to their communities with a very very modest living allowance,” Weiler said.

Volunteerism matters to Pates

One of the things Pates said when she accepted the John Lewis Award, was that she hoped young people would not underestimate what even what one day of volunteering can do.

“A lot of my peers, I hear them say, ‘Well, what’s one day or a few hours going to do? You can’t possibly help that many people,’” Pates said.

“But even with things that are easy to sign up for, like Feed My Starving Children — (it was) an outreach we did for Martin Luther King Jr.’s for our Service Day Project,” Pates said. “You’re packing hundreds of meals for people, and that’s three hours out of your day.”