A West Loop law firm sends every lawyer to eviction court. The judge says it shows.

On a Tuesday morning in the Daley Center's housing courtrooms, it is not unusual to find a partner from a downtown law firm sitting beside a tenant who has never met a lawyer. What is unusual, according to the judge who runs the docket, is finding the same firm there every week.

Hale & Mercer LLP, a forty-lawyer firm on West Lake Street, requires every one of its attorneys to give at least fifty hours a year to pro bono work. In the first half of 2026 the firm logged 2,140 hours across 51 matters, the majority of them through the Chicago Legal Clinic's eviction-defence programme.

"Plenty of firms have a pro bono policy," said the judge, who asked not to be named because of court rules on commenting about practitioners. "This one has a pro bono habit. I can tell when their people have prepared a tenant, because the tenant knows what is about to happen."

Elena Marsh, the firm's managing partner since 2019, said the requirement dates from the firm's founding in 1987 and has never been waived. "The minimum is not negotiable, and I am the first person it applies to," she said. "A law firm that only shows up for people who can pay is a vending machine."

The programme is not without cost. Marsh estimated the firm forgoes roughly $900,000 a year in billable time. Chief financial officer Hannah Weiss said the figure is budgeted "the same way we budget rent," and that the firm has never missed its target.

Legal Aid Chicago, which coordinates volunteer placements, said demand on the housing docket has risen sharply since 2024. "Firms that commit to a regular presence are worth ten that send someone once," said a spokesperson. "Tenants get continuity. Judges get prepared cases."

Asked what she would say to other firm leaders, Marsh was brief. "Thursday evenings. The clinic is on Dearborn. They will put you to work."