Public Interest Blog | Public Interest Law Section

This blog offers section members its Tip of the Month, brief articles by members on recent developments and helpful resources. Published by the State Bar of Wisconsin's Public Interest Law Section.

This section provides a forum for public interest lawyers statewide to discuss and promote public interest issues and concerns. The section monitors and proposes legislation, sponsors CLE programs, works closely with law students, has an email list, and publishes a newsletter.

Members of the State Bar of Wisconsin may join the section by visiting https://www.wisbar.org/formembers/groups/pages/join-a-group.aspx (login required).

Section website: https://www.wisbar.org/forMembers/Groups/Sections/PublicInterestLawSection/pages/home.aspx

Subscribe via RSS
Visit Blog
By: Public Interest Law Section | State Bar of Wisconsin​

Blog Authors

Elizabeth A. Groeschel
Jacob A. Haller
Irene Au-Young
Heidi B. Rattner
Haley Bjorn
Kelsey Brown
Lucrechia C. Daye
Susan C. Lund
Katherine Cook
Brittany D. Schoenick
Christina E. Balistreri
Rosathea E. Monhaut
Morgan Gulledge
Andrew H. Morgan
Christine Huberty
Bryn I. Baker
Katherine J. Alft
Christine J. Huberty
Heidi J. Mangelsen
Christine Jensen Huberty
Erica K. Lopez
Matthew Kline
Jennifer L. Johnson
Megan L. Sprecher
Megan Lorna Sprecher
Samuel M. Hutchison
Gilbert Malis
Evan McCarthy
Nathan Oesch
Samantha R. Bastil
Amy R. Devine
Amanda R.R. Mayer
Amanda R. Rabe
Joseph S. Riepenhoff
Elizabeth Stinebaugh
Elisabeth Stockbridge
Mitchell T. Yurkowitz
Elizabeth TenBarge
Araceli Wence
Bradley Yanke

Latest from Public Interest Blog | Public Interest Law Section

July 27, 2026

In family court you will encounter a lot of voices – parents, their attorneys, maybe a child support attorney, and often, a guardian ad litem representing the best interests of the child.

In Wisconsin, a guardian ad litem (GAL) is another attorney in the courtroom, and what they determine to be in the child’s “best interest” is directly dictated by statute.

But the way that we do it here in Wisconsin is just one of the

…
Continue Reading Beyond Best Interests: Rethinking Child Representation

Rental registries are essentially databases that contain information about rental properties and their owners. They can be used to track information about ownership, document certification or licensing based on rental inspections – a powerful local tool to identify and stabilize deteriorated but occupied rental properties. Sometimes, where applicable, these registries can help enforce municipal rent stabilization ordinances.[1] Historical Context Before 2016, many Wisconsin municipalities, including Milwaukee, had rental registry programs and proactive inspection programs.[2] Enacted in…
Continue Reading Rental Inspection Restrictions Put Childhood Lead Prevention at Risk

https-www-wisbar-org-newspublications-publishingimages-article%20images-handcuffs-key-unlocked-jail-prison-freedom-criminal-pardon-expungement-1200x630-jpg

Earlier this month, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed two executive orders: Executive Order #287, creating an advisory board to review applications for commutations, and Executive Order #288, creating a specific process for commutation requests from people who were sentenced to life imprisonment while they were juveniles.

The Wisconsin Constitution grants the governor the power to issue commutations and pardons, but unlike the pardon power, which Gov. Evers has exercised since creating a Pardon Advisory Board in 2019,…
Continue Reading Commutations in Wisconsin: A Rare Opportunity for Relief

Earlier this year, Wisconsin legislators began holding public hearings on Wisconsin Assembly Bill 609. This bill, sponsored by State Rep. Chanz J. Green and a number of other state lawmakers, proposes to make changes to Wisconsin’s concealed carry laws by eliminating the need for a permit to carry a weapon concealed.

Matthew Kline headshot
Matthew Kline, Ohio State 2021, is an assistant attorney general with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in Columbus, Ohio.

Concealed carry is a requirement that any individual…
Continue Reading Permitless Carry: Observations on a National Trend

Effectively representing domestic abuse/intimate partner violence (IPV)[1] victim-survivors requires exemplary soft skills, such as active listening, clear communication, patience, and compassion. Intimate partner violence is a pattern of controlling behavior that includes threats, psychological manipulation, verbal degradation, financial coercion, sexual abuse, physical abuse, educational deprivation, spiritual abuse, stalking, and other tactics to control a partner. IPV can occur between individuals who are dating, separated, divorced, or married.[2] Wisconsin’s legal definition of domestic abuse is much narrower, which

…
Continue Reading 5 Tips for Representing Survivors of Domestic Abuse

For many lawyers in private practice, “pro bono” is not something that is often talked about, but efforts to provide legal services to those who cannot afford is vital to the Wisconsin community.

If you practice in Wisconsin, there is a plethora of opportunities that will enable you to provide these essential services while also developing skills and gaining experience that will assist you in your private practice.

These opportunities include accepting Wisconsin State Public Defender (SPD) appointments at

…
Continue Reading Pro Bono Work Sharpens Your Practice

The Reentry Legal Services (RLS) program of Legal Services of Wisconsin helps people prepare for life after release from prison by securing essential benefits and health coverage.
Heidi Mangelsen headshot Heidi Mangelsen, St. Thomas 2010, is a Reentry Legal Services (RLS) attorney with Legal Action of Wisconsin, in Oshkosh. Her practice focuses on providing legal services to incarcerated people as they approach their release from prison.

RLS attorneys represent eligible clients in applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or

…
Continue Reading Boosting Successful Reentry: RLS Helps Formerly Incarcerated People Access Benefits

When parents get divorced, establishing paternity, or facing custody and placement disputes, they must seek court intervention.

Many parents expect that equal (50/50) shared placement of the children is the standard placement schedule that every court uses unless there is evidence that one party is a “bad parent.” Even some legal professionals or court officials seem to be operating under this assumption.

Haley Bjorn headshot

Haley Bjorn, Arizona State 2023, is a staff attorney with Judicare Legal Aid, Wausau. She

…
Continue Reading The Myth of 50/50 Placement: What Wisconsin Law Actually Requires

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