Who We Are
Governors State University Legal Clinic
Navigating the legal system alone can be overwhelming. The GovState Legal Clinic is here to help.
The GovState Legal Clinic provides free legal assistance and non-legal resources to low-income Illinois residents who are using the court system without legal representation. Our team of attorneys, social workers, and volunteers work together under the supervision of a licensed attorney and social worker to help clients understand and navigate the legal system with confidence.
The clinic is committed to expanding access to legal services in underrepresented communities across the region.
Mission
The Governors State University Legal Clinic is dedicated to breaking down the structural, social, and economic barriers that prevent underrepresented individuals, families, and communities in the Chicago Southland from accessing the legal system. Through free self-help legal assistance services, we work to address racial and economic injustice and create meaningful, lasting change for the vulnerable populations we serve.
Why We Do It
Why the GovState Legal Clinic Matters
GovState is located in Will County, in the heart of the Chicago Southland, a region of 2.5 million people spread across 62 diverse communities. While the Southland is rich in culture and community, it is also a region grappling with rising poverty and disenfranchisement, particularly among BIPOC populations.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, six Southland cities rank among the top 20 cities in Illinois with the highest rates of poverty, each carrying two to three times the national poverty average of 11.4%:
| City | Poverty Rate |
|---|---|
| Dolton | 22.3% |
| Chicago Heights | 24.2% |
| Riverdale | 26.3% |
| Kankakee | 28.9% |
| Sauk Village | 31.8% |
| Harvey | 32.8% |
Poverty amplifies inequality across every dimension of daily life, including jobs, transportation, childcare, health care, food security, housing, and public safety. For many Southland residents, their zip code alone makes them a target for exploitation and abuse, and a lack of access to legal representation leaves them with nowhere to turn.
Who We Serve
The majority of GovState students live in the Southland. Our student body reflects the diversity and complexity of the communities we serve:
- Age range: 18 to 65
- Adult learners, students 25 and older: 43.5% of the student population
- First-generation college students: 41%
- Pell Grant recipients: more than 50%
- Student racial demographics:
- Black: 38.4%
- White: 32.1%
- Latinx: 14.9%
- Asian: 2.62%
- Two or more races: 2.58%
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: 0.043%
GovState students regularly face legal crises that threaten their ability to stay in school. Our staff work alongside students to connect them with the help they need, because we believe that keeping students enrolled is inseparable from keeping them supported.
Our Commitment
At GovState, we believe justice begins with equity. The GovState Legal Clinic exists to provide free legal assistance to Southland residents who cannot afford legal counsel, because access to justice should never depend on a person's ability to pay.
Founding Director
Phyllis West, PhD
Phyllis West, PhD serves as Director of the Social Justice Initiative at GovState, bringing more than three decades of experience in advocacy, training, case management, and community organizing to her role.
West is a social work educator with expertise in community public health, international service learning, criminal justice, and organizational wellness. Her work is rooted in a deep commitment to communities that have historically had limited access to legal and social services.
For the past 14 years, West has focused on training the next generation of social workers and global citizens, equipping students with the skills, knowledge, and values they need to create meaningful change in the world.
Attorneys
Robert Sharp Jr.
Robert Sharp Jr., Attorney and Baptist Minister
Robert Sharp Jr. is a Baptist minister and public interest and civil rights attorney dedicated to serving communities that have historically lacked access to legal representation.
Sharp began his legal career in federal court, litigating wrongful death and excessive force lawsuits against law enforcement and Title VII employment discrimination claims against employers. He has also served as a court-appointed attorney in the Child Protection and Juvenile Justice divisions of the Circuit Court of Cook County, where he represented juveniles accused of crimes and advocated for the reunification of families affected by allegations of child abuse and neglect.
A Chicago native, Sharp grew up as an only child in a two-parent household in the Englewood community on the city's South Side. He attended Lewis-Champlin Elementary School and Englewood High School.
Micheal A. Smith
Micheal A. Smith, Attorney and Counselor at Law
Micheal A. Smith is an Illinois attorney who helps families protect what they have built and plan for the generations that follow. His practice centers on estate planning, asset protection, and probate, along with real estate, family law, and business and corporate matters. For more than three decades, he has counseled individuals, families, closely held businesses, and nonprofit organizations with a practical, relationship-centered approach, explaining legal options in plain terms so clients can make decisions with confidence.
Micheal was first licensed to practice law in Michigan in 1993 and began his career as an associate in the Corporate Practice Group at Dykema Gossett PLLC in Detroit. He later founded the Law Office of Micheal A. Smith, a solo practice representing corporations and nonprofit organizations in a wide range of transactional matters. Before entering the law, he worked in banking and public accounting, experience that grounds the financial side of the estate planning and asset protection work he does today.
An ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a board-certified chaplain, Micheal has ministered to families through illness, loss, and life transitions, experience that shapes the care he brings to planning conversations that are often hard to begin. He has also held leadership roles in theological education, including serving as Vice President for Administration at Ecumenical Theological Seminary.
Micheal's commitment to community has been a constant throughout his career. Over the years, he has served on the boards and committees of a range of community organizations, with a focus on community revitalization, strengthening families, youth mentoring, increasing minority organ donation, and promoting fair and equitable representation within the legal system. Most recently, he has worked alongside community members to seal or expunge their criminal records, helping them open doors to employment, housing, and a fresh start. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the Association of Professional Chaplains.
He holds a Doctor of Ministry and a Master of Divinity from Ecumenical Theological Seminary, a Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University.
