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Category: Pro bono

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Provider profile – Legal Action of Wisconsin

  The legal problems faced by low-income people often threaten them with dire consequences: eviction, loss of income, domestic violence, loss of health care, homelessness, repossession of vehicles (which can result in the loss of employment) and more. These are the problems that Legal Action of Wisconsin (LAW) helps over 8,000 people address each year. While the cases usually do not involve large sums of money, the outcomes for poor

Equal justice award winners

At the 2015 Wisconsin Equal Justice Conference, six awards were announced for outstanding contributions in the areas of civil justice, public interest law and pro bono work. The award winners were announced by the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Legal Assistance Committee and Public Interest Law Section. Formal presentation of the awards will take place during the Member Recognition Celebration at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting & Conference on June 25 in Lake

Provider spotlight: Kids Matter

Kids Matter Inc. was founded in 2000 to help abused and neglected youth in the greater Milwaukee area. It is a small agency with a big mission. Kids Matter is the only legal services agency providing non-GAL civil legal services within the child welfare system and for informal kinship families in Wisconsin. In addition to providing direct legal services for children and families, Kids Matter provides free legal information to

Pro bono standard bearers

The Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission is pleased to announce the 398 members of the 2014 Wisconsin Pro Bono Honor Society. Each of these outstanding lawyers provided at least 50 hours of free or substantially reduced fee pro bono legal services in 2014 to benefit persons of limit means. Their service represents a combined contribution of at least 19,900 hours of pro bono legal help for people in need. This is

Wisconsin equal justice conference recap

The Wisconsin Equal Justice Conference is an education forum for advocates on access to justice issues related to low-income and disadvantaged clients. More than 120 people attended this year’s biennial conference in Milwaukee on March 6, 2015. Sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin Legal Assistance Committee and Public Interest Law Section, as well as the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission, the conference offered a variety of presentations on topics of interest

Volunteer spotlight – Wisconsin lawyers help out in Artesia

By Rita Lord In early 2014, amid a crush of thousands of Central American families caught crossing the border illegally, the federal government expanded the family detention system it had downsized just a few years ago. That set the stage for a remarkable effort to recruit volunteer lawyers from across the United States to travel to remote detention centers and provide legal representation to immigrant adults and children. In 2009,

Lawyer for a day update

By Michael Gonring Milwaukee’s Lawyer for a Day program to have volunteer lawyers provide representation to victims seeking restraining order injunctions has now been up and running for 18 months. This is an update on our progress. During our first 18 months, 478 petitioners were referred to the program through Sojourner Family Peace Center and then screened by law students at Marquette University Law School. Injunctions were granted in 71

Pro bono spotlight – Meghan Healy

By Rita Lord “My parents. Definitely, my parents,” responded Attorney Meghan Healy when asked what prompted her to become a volunteer in numerous social justice organizations. Meghan, her father Howard Healy and sister Kathleen Healy all practice with Di Renzo & Bomier in Neenah and all have volunteered for the Winnebago County Legal Clinic (pdf) since its inception in 2008. The clinic is held at three locations in the Fox Valley

Pro Bono Honor Society membership raises the bar

As fall arrives, now is the time to start thinking about nominating the 2014 members of the Wisconsin Pro Bono Honor Society.  The Pro Bono Honor Society is an annual recognition program that was launched last year by the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission and the State Bar of Wisconsin pro bono program as a way to salute the volunteer lawyers who help provide access to justice for low-income Wisconsin

Pro bono spotlight – Margaret Maroney

By Margaret Maroney I have Fidel Castro to thank for my encore career. His decision in 1980 to allow thousands of Cubans to board boats departing the Port of Mariel for Florida gave me the chance to sample immigration law. At the time, I was an Assistant State Public Defender in the Appellate Division. The U.S. government was eager to return to Cuba those Marielitos who were convicted of a crime