Public Interest

RSS Link

As a new lawyer handling (what I assumed was) an easy settlement disbursement meeting on a small personal injury case, I vividly recall learning that the client was on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and then leaving the room to ask one of our firm’s estate planning and elder law attorneys, “Is this going to be an issue?”

Aside from having the good – and increasingly rare – fortune of being part of a general practice firm where I could…
Continue Reading Knowing the Intersection of Settlements and Public Benefits

For the past year and a half, the tenant side of landlord tenant law in Wisconsin has had serious ammunition when landlords provide their tenants with leases that are void and unenforceable under Wis. Stat. section 704.44 and Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.08. One case is
Koble Investments v. Marquardt (2022AP182), a Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision from 2024 that has recently been argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Koble involves a lease that was found void and unenforceable…
Continue Reading Proper Remedies Under a Void Lease: Koble v. Marquardt

A tenant starts to notice little red marks on her body. Unsure where they came from, she assumes it was a mosquito bite or something innocuous. But she also overheard in the lobby that someone else in the building might have bed bugs. A few days pass, but now there are even more red marks. And the kids have the bite marks too. This family’s worst fears have come true.

The mom Googles “how to get rid of bed…
Continue Reading Infestation Injustice

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1 – the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The purpose of the law was to extend 2017 tax cuts and fund other administration priorities. In order to pay for these policies, however, significant cuts were made to programs that provide health care and other assistance. In the public benefits world, much attention was paid – and rightfully so – to the negative impacts the bill would have on…
Continue Reading Under the Radar – Quiet Changes to Medicare by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

From June 18 to June 20, 2025, lawyers from across the state gathered near the Capitol in Madison for the State Bar’s Annual Meeting and Conference (AMC). The conference was complete with networking, awards, ceremonies, and more CLEs than you could shake a stick at. Every year the State Bar holds the AMC, and although there was not an official theme (unless you count pink flamingos) it was clear that the unofficial theme was “change.” Rapid, unexpected, disorienting change.
Continue Reading Navigating Disruption: The Unofficial Theme of the 2025 AMC

Substandard housing damages the health of children and families in our community, traps low-income renters in cycles of poverty, and exacerbates racial inequities. Mold, dust, and infestations from mice, rats, and cockroaches can trigger asthma attacks and cause other respiratory problems.[1]

Brittany Schoenick headshot

Britany Schoenick​,​ University of Wisconsin Law School Class of 2017, is a staff attorney with Legal Action of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where she has focused on landlord-tenant law for 8 years.​

Unsafe and unstable housing can…
Continue Reading Healthy Housing for Tenants: A Legal Landscape in Wisconsin

Any adult in Wisconsin can file for a name change at the circuit court in their county of residence. The forms required to file for a name change – CV-450 – can be found for free on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) website. Name changes in Wisconsin are normally required to be public processes, and petitioners must publish notice of a proposed name change in a newspaper for three weeks before the name change can be granted. When…
Continue Reading The Challenges of Confidential Name Changes in Wisconsin

Love under setting sun
Mayur Gala, Unsplash
As a first-year law student, I’ve learned that the legal profession is built around a desire to help people. Regardless of who is helped or in what capacity, a central tenet of our legal system is advocacy, which is particularly impactful when supporting those who need it the most.

Through the pro bono programs and public interest offerings at Marquette Law, I have been able to experience this value firsthand.
Public Interest Opportunities at Marquette Law
Coming into law…
Continue Reading A 1L’s Perspective on Pro Bono Work and Public Interest Law

Wisconsin ranks 38th in the nation on laws related to restoring rights and opportunities after arrest or conviction.1 According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, Wisconsin is the only state in the nation where judges are required to order expungement at sentencing instead of at the completion of someone’s sentence. Wisconsin also limits expungement to people under the age of 25, making it one of the only states that limits expungement to young offenders.2

Christina E. Balistreri headshot

Christina E. Balistreri,

…
Continue Reading Expungement and Pardons in Wisconsin: A Brief Overview

A significant barrier for individuals reentering communities after incarceration is accessing health care. For many, health appointments are conditions to release and parole, and often medical care is lifesaving for those with mental health issues and substance use disorders. This article discusses the health care options under the federal Medicare program. New changes expanding access to recently incarcerated individuals took effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Christine Huberty headshot Christine Huberty, William Mitchell 2013, is an attorney with Center for Medicare Advocacy.

…
Continue Reading Medicare Expands Health Care Access for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

According to CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, “about 41% of women and 26% of men experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime and reported a related impact.”

And according to End Abuse Wisconsin:
Domestic violence is a pattern of coercive, controlling behavior that can include physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, financial, and other abuse. Domestic violence is more than physical violence. It can include threats, harassment, putting…
Continue Reading Domestic Violence Impacts Presumptions on Legal Custody in Family Law

Disclaimer: I am writing this blog under my capacity as a board member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Public Interest Law Section. This blog and the views within are my own. It no way reflects the view of the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, or the U.S. Federal Government. I am not receiving any compensation for writing this blog. My Background Before I get into the benefits of working for the government, I first want to explain…
Continue Reading Benefits of Working for the Federal Government

In my work representing tenants, my highest priority is eviction defense. Evictions are often, but not always, the culmination of a dispute regarding the tenant’s obligations under the rental agreement.

It is the obvious solution for landlords who believe that the agreement has been terminally breached. But what if a landlord fails to keep their side of the bargain? What are the tenants’ remedies? The answer is less obvious.
Repairs and Maintenance
The primary responsibility of a landlord is…
Continue Reading Tenant Rent Abatement: When Landlords Refuse to Make Necessary Repairs

Federally funded grant programs create meaningful impacts in the lives of individuals and communities. Many programs address acute local, national, or global concerns. Annually, the U.S. government funds thousands of programs with taxpayer funds.

Grant funds have historically been awarded to governmental entities, institutions of higher education, health care and research institutions, and other charitable nonprofits.

In recent years, a growing number of for-profit entities have become eligible to receive federal grant awards. For example, eligible agricultural employers were…
Continue Reading Revised Uniform Guidance Expands Access to Federal Grants

When my child, born female, entered the ninth grade in 2015, he began to experience profound feelings of gender dysphoria. This condition arises when there is a significant incongruence between an individual’s gender identity and their assigned sex at birth, resulting in substantial discomfort or distress. In less than a year, he was certain he was meant to be male. Many people have asked me if I saw this coming, and the truth is, I did not. My child…
Continue Reading What Parenting a Transgender Child Taught This Lawyer

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