This is an independent archive. It is not the SAEF Legal Aid charity, which no longer operates this domain, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Chicago. Nothing here is legal advice — here is where to get real help.
SAEF Legal Aid Archive & referral

In danger right now?

Illinois Domestic Violence Helpline 1-877-863-6338 — Free, confidential and multilingual, 24 hours a day. TTY 1-877-863-6339.Emergency 911 — If you or your children are in immediate danger.

SAEF Legal Aid Archive

There used to be a page here about legal advice vs legal representation whats the difference.

SAEF Legal Aid published a plain-English guide to Illinois family law until 2022. That guide is gone, and this archive has deliberately not reconstructed it — an out-of-date explanation of a legal term is worse than none, because people act on it.

Where that information lives now

Illinois Legal Aid Online is the maintained replacement and the better source in every respect: it is written in the same plain language, it is kept current against Illinois law, and it carries the court-approved do-it-yourself forms that SAEF only described. Search there for “legal advice vs legal representation whats the difference”.

If you need a person, not a definition

Looking up a term usually means something is already happening. The referral list has the Cook County organizations that give free advice by phone, including a hotline staffed by lawyers. It takes less time than reading a glossary.

Why this page exists at all: several published articles and guides link to this exact address. Deleting it would break those links and drop anyone following one onto an error. More about this archive, or read how SAEF came out of the University of Chicago.