Legal Grounds Wisconsin®

LEGAL GROUNDS HAS CHANGED LOCATION

Please visit Legal Grounds Wisconsin's New Website by CLICKING HERE

Former Location:
T.B. Scott Merrill Public Library
Third Floor
106 W. First Street
Merrill, WI 54452

NOVEL APPROACH TO LEGAL SERVICE BREWING IN THE NORTHWOODS

Legal Grounds Wisconsin® is a free Legal Coffeehouse where volunteer attorneys answer brief questions on legal issues such as Family Law, Landlord Tenant matters, or Utilities over a complimentary cup of Starbucks™ coffee. Please visit this site for news and updates.

LEGAL GROUNDS WISCONSIN® IN THE MEDIA

• On September 28, 2005, Legal Grounds Wisconsin® was featured in the Jewish Women International Newsletter. The newsletter, "Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community: Core Communication for the Jewish Domestic Violence Movement," strives to keep the greater community informed and connected. Wisconsin Judicare was happy to highlight unique services in northern Wisconsin available to those of every religion. The article, titled "Access to Justice When Trouble is Brewing: A New Approach to Service Delivery" appeared in the September 2005 Issue (Volume 1 Issue 8).

  Click Here to View the Newsletter Article "Access to Justice"

• Attorney Erin McBride and Attorney Brynne McBride, co-founders of Legal Grounds Wisconsin® were selected by the State Bar of Wisconsin as "Lawyers Demonstrating Exemplary Commitment to Community." A thirty-second television spot highlights the McBride's unique legal coffeehouse, where volunteer attorneys answer brief legal questions over a complimentary cup of coffee. The commercial was filmed the first week in September at the beautiful Merrill Public Library, and is airing on both network and cable television stations this fall and winter.

  Click Here to View the Commercial
  

  For samples of past State Bar of Wisconsin television commercials, please explore the following web site:
  'Wisconsin Lawyers Make a Difference' TV series

  To read about the coffeehouse in the September 2005 State Bar of Wisconsin Newsletter,
  Please Click Here.

  To read about the coffeehouse in the October 2005 State Bar of Wisconsin Newsletter,
  Please Click Here.

• On September 8, 2005, Wausau's WSAW Channel 7 News featured Legal Grounds Wisconsin®. The popular news segment "Page 2" with Paige Lambrecht, airing weekday mornings at 9:00am, featured the new Merrill Coffeehouse, explaining what the project can offer the northwoods community. Tune in at 9:00am to watch as Channel 7 highlights informative programs, seasonal events and fabulous people of north central Wisconsin!!

  

• On August 31, 2005, Legal Grounds Wisconsin® hosted the COFFEEHOUSE "GRANDE" OPENING event at the T.B. Scott Merrill Public Library. We were joined by community leaders, agency representatives, clients, staff, and friends for coffee and converstaion as the coffeehouse debuted. Legal Grounds Wisconsin® attorneys and staff greatly appreciate the great support from the T.B. Scott Library Board of Directors and Library Director, Bea Lebal. Also, we are very appreciative of the extra support from the Wausau Starbucks.

  Click Here to View Images of the Event

• On August 30, 2005, Legal Grounds Wisconsin® was featured in the Tomahawk Leader. Reporter Abigail Wix conducted an interview with Attorneys Erin and Brynne McBride prior to the Coffeehouse Grand Opening Celebration. She highlighted the coffeehouse mission and goals, and extended an invitation to the greater community to take advantage of this service. To view the full article, click on the link below.

  Merrill Percolates Partnership With Legal Grounds Wisconsin®:
  Coffeehouse to offer free attorney advice

A CAFFEINATED EFFORT

A Coffee House Offering Free Coffee and Legal Advice To Debut in Merrill
Legal Grounds Wisconsin®, housed at the beautiful T.B. Scott Merrill Public Library, 106 W. First Street, Merrill, WI, is a coffee house “where the coffee and advice are always on the house.” Interested patrons will receive brief assistance with their legal matters while enjoying complementary coffee. This approach will fulfill two dire needs of northern Wisconsin--the need to more effectively reach the low-income residents while generating interest among Wisconsin lawyers in providing badly needed pro bono service. The coffee house patrons will have access to lawyers volunteering their brief service and advice on topics such as family law, landlord/tenant matters and small claims. Legal Grounds Wisconsin® has the ultimate goal of "helping people help themselves." It is not a project to represent clients in cases, but to help them through the legal process and steer them to other resources. It may also build awareness of the many pro se or self-help resources throughout the region. The organizers feel a free legal clinic such as Legal Grounds Wisconsin® will provide convenient access to legal information in a relaxed atmosphere. Hopefully, local residents will gain a better understanding of how to resolve their pressing legal issues while enjoying the coffee and conversations brewed each day.

PERCOLATING PARTNERSHIPS

Wisconsin Judicare is thrilled to announce collaboration between Starbucks of Wausau and Legal Grounds Wisconsin®. Starbucks, 306 S. 17th Avenue, is continuing its tradition of community involvement. Manager Rich Faxon and associate Mary Rose Pries made a generous donation of ground coffee. Associates also made personal donations, with pounds of “Komodo Dragon Blend®,” “Caffé Verona®,” and “Starbuck’s Breakfast Blend.” Starbucks has many community building programs that contribute positively to their communities. They encourage and reward volunteerism and participation in organizations such as local schools, literacy programs, walk-a-thons, Earth Day activities, and now, Legal Coffeehouses.

NEED BREWING FOR PRO BONO ATTORNEYS IN WISCONSIN

Observations indicate the legal profession, particularly the Wisconsin legal profession, is failing its obligation to provide voluntary legal services to people of limited means. By necessity, people have been increasingly emphasizing expansion of pro bono legal services through various policy and delivery options. “Pro bono” is a declining part of most lawyers’ work, even as leaders of the organized bar exhort them to help provide Wisconsin’s poor with this drastically needed legal service.

Studies have found that nationally, pro bono services to the poor represent less than one percent of lawyers’ working hours. The Wisconsin Equal Justice Coalition Fund clarified this national trend in stating that over 500,000 Wisconsin residents live in poverty. Due to desperate financial situations, these residents cannot afford a lawyer when faced with pressing legal problems.

The gap between the legal needs of the poor and the resources available to meet those needs is growing dramatically. Wisconsin’s civil legal services programs provide assistance to approximately 20,000 low-income people each year. However, legal services programs must frequently turn away many more needy families because the agencies themselves lack the resources to provide quality assistance. Estimates suggest that the State of Wisconsin has one attorney for every 414 citizens, but only one legal services attorney for every 8,476 low-income citizens.

Although the need is greater now than ever before, the participation of Wisconsin lawyers in pro bono legal services still appears to be declining. The legal profession alone cannot solve the problem of adequate representation of the poor, but small, creative projects provide efficient, enjoyable use of attorneys’ limited free time.

Attorneys interested in participating in Legal Grounds Wisconsin® may contact the Judicare office 8:30-4:30 weekdays at 1-800-472-1638. Average time commitment is approximately 3-5 hours per year...no prior brewing experience is necessary!

JUDICARE HELPLINE SERVES AS COFFEE HOUSE MODEL

Legal Grounds Wisconsin® was envisioned after the success of the Wisconsin Judicare Legal Helpline—a new mode of service delivery. The Helpline provides access to legal information for all financially eligible Judicare cardholders. Eligible individuals may call the Helpline to discuss and obtain information about legal issues such as Evictions, Utility Shut-offs, Security Deposit returns, Landlord-Tenant matters, SSI/SSDI or pre-Divorce questions. The Legal Advice Helpline can be reached by calling 1-800-472-1638. The Helpline operates from 1:00-4:00pm every Monday and Wednesday with the length of calls averaging approximately 30 minutes long. The Helpline is for legal information, telephone counsel and advice, brief service and referrals only. Legal Grounds Wisconsin® will operate in a similar fashion to the established Helpline, with the added feature of volunteer attorneys.

FRIENDS AT THE WISCONSIN BAR

The American Bar Association has long considered the State Bar of Wisconsin to be one of the most innovative, productive and service-oriented bars in the country. Legal Grounds Wisconsin® would like to extend its gratitude to the State Bar of Wisconsin and Attorney Jeff Brown, State Bar Pro Bono Coordinator, for their assistance and financial support. Advertisements and informational brochures would not have been possible without their generous donations.

In addition to assisting Legal Grounds, the State Bar of Wisconsin, in cooperation with local bars, legal aid programs, and community groups, is spearheading a campaign called “Just Take Two” to recruit lawyers. Their goal: to improve effective access to the courts by increasing the availability of pro bono lawyers. The “Just Take Two” initiative is a voluntary pledge by Wisconsin lawyers to take at least two new pro bono matters in the next 12 months. More information on pro bono initiatives in Wisconsin is available at: http://www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=ProBono

A RELAXING NEW MERRILL LOCATION

Wisconsin Judicare was happy to partner with the T.B. Scott Library in Merrill for this project. After a phone call and site visit with Library Director Bea Libel, the coffee house location was set. The library, named for T. B. Scott, lumberman, state Senator, and first mayor of Merrill opened for business in 1891. In 2002, the Library was designated a Merrill Historic Landmark. The beautiful atmosphere and friendly staff make this a relaxing, stigma-free environment.

WISCONSIN JUDICARE SPONSORS THE NEW COFFEE HOUSE

Wisconsin Judicare, Inc. is a charitable non-profit legal service corporation located in Wausau. Judicare recognizes the multiple barriers to justice faced by the impoverished, the disabled, the elderly, and victims of domestic violence. The Staff Attorneys are committed to weekly outreach visits and its telephone Helpline where clients are assisted in a range of family, consumer, benefits, and abuse matters.

Still, Judicare is not able to reach all those in need of legal assistance. Legal Grounds Wisconsin®, a project organized by the Staff Attorneys at Judicare, hopes to attract volunteer attorneys in northern Wisconsin to assist those who would otherwise be without needed legal assistance. Judicare will organize, sponsor, and evaluate the project, and if successful, will expand to service other communities in need.

THE SCOOP

The Scoop is a newsletter publication for the Wisconsin Judicare, Inc. Attorneys, Staff, Wisconsin Judicare Board of Directors, Stakeholders, and friends. To view past issues, select one of the volumes listed below.

Volume 1 Issue 1

Volume 1 Issue 2