Access to Justice

In Better Call Saul, Jimmy McGill, the (ethically challenged but charming) main character, can’t get hired at his brother’s fancy law firm. So when he’s left with no other options, he does criminal defense work. It’s pretty far from the work he wanted.  Art mirrors life. It seems that a lot of lawyers aren’t inclined to do this work.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler recently announced the creation of an Attorney Retention and Recruitment Committee to consider
Continue Reading Tackling the defense lawyer shortage, Kim Wexler style

For the past several years, Wisconsin has ranked near the top of the country for racial disparity in nearly every category related to the juvenile justice system.1

State and national trends also support that there is a particular group of youth of color that are uniquely susceptible to involvement in the juvenile justice system: those who have a disability. Nationally, children with disabilities are removed from school and referred to and involved in the juvenile justice system at
Continue Reading Interrupting the School to Prison Pipeline at the Intersection of Race and Disability

We are excited to share with you a Forensics piece by our high schooler, Carter.
P.s. – He’s going to State!

Democracy lives in the people, democracy is the people, democracy is our best hope. This is a quote of Vice President Kamala Harris, and I think her words are undeniable. Democracy, an idea entrenched in the United States. An idea that the United States has helped spread all over the world. But what truly holds a democracy together?
Continue Reading American Democracy  

ChatGPT is a new AI-powered chatbot that answers complex questions conversationally.  This remarkable tool that can assist with a wide range of tasks, from generating humanlike text to providing helpful answers to questions.  This raises huge implications for research, education, business, and much more. “So the best way to think about this is you are chatting with a omniscient eager-to-please intern who sometimes lies to you,” describes Ethan Mollick , Professor of Management at the University of Pennsylvania.  If
Continue Reading ChatGPT Chatbot Can Write Anything from Student Essays to Legal Briefs

As a lawyer who practices in both the health care and wellness worlds, I have the advantage of witnessing strategies to try to improve health outcomes in both worlds. One issue that is dominating the health care policy literature is implementing strategies to address Social Determinants of Health (“SDOH”). SDOH includes issues like:

  • family relationships,
  • housing
  • education levels
  • income and employment concerns,
  • cultural values
  • legal status (such as immigration, criminal or credit history status)

These issues can have an
Continue Reading Tackling the Social Determinants of Health through Wellness-Legal Partnerships

A new form available through the Wisconsin Court System website makes it less burdensome for indigent individuals to obtain a waiver of court fees and costs by allowing their pro bono, legal aid, or public defender attorneys to submit a petition requesting the fee waiver.

Indigent individuals can still submit petitions for waivers if they cannot pay court filing and/or service fees. They must complete the form, have it notarized, and file it with the court, or have their
Continue Reading New Form Reduces Burdens on Indigent Persons to Obtain Fee Waivers

Earlier this month, Bloomberg Law announced that it is offering free access to all legal aid organizations supported by the Legal Services Corporation.  See Dewey B Strategic for more on this partnership.  In Wisconsin, LSC supports Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. and Wisconsin Judicare, Inc.  See the map of other LSC supported organizations.

Yesterday, Bloomberg Law also announced that it was also offering 90 days of complimentary access to lawyers who take pro bono cases through the
Continue Reading Free Access to Bloomberg Law Research Platform for Legal Aid Organizations & Pro Bono Attorneys

The State Bar of Wisconsin’s Board of Governors met virtually for its December meeting.

Dec. 4, 2020 – The State Bar of Wisconsin’s Board of Governors today voted to support efforts to expand internet broadband access to ensure citizens in rural parts of the state have access to online legal tools, as well as access to attorneys who can help them.

The board, meeting virtually, unanimously adopted the broadband policy position to support funding for broadband statewide to ensure
Continue Reading State Bar Board Supports Efforts to Expand Internet Broadband in Wisconsin

Legal Tune Up Wisconsin from LIFT Dane is a new app that uses publicly available data (driver’s license, criminal, eviction, court, and child support records) to help people identify and address legal issues on their own.

From LawSites:
In its initial launch, the app enables users to see if they have past eviction or criminal records on Wisconsin’s online public records database that are eligible for removal.  If so, the app automates creation and filing of the appropriate
Continue Reading Legal Tune Up Helps Wisconsinites Identify Past Eviction, Criminal Records & Request Removal