Legal Grounds Wisconsin®
Wisconsin Judicare, Inc. - 060020
Abstract Number: : 060020
July 2006
Two Wisconsin Judicare, Inc. attorneys launched Legal Grounds Wisconsin®, a coffee house that offers free coffee and legal advice to those in need of legal assistance. Legal Grounds Wisconsin® seeks to increase pro bono involvement by recruiting volunteer attorneys to staff the coffeehouse while also increasing service delivery to people seeking brief legal advice on civil legal issues. The organizers received donated coffee from Starbucks for each coffeehouse. Legal Grounds Wisconsin® hosts a coffeehouse once a month, and the coffeehouse has been hosted in community locations including the public library and the YWCA. Clients most frequently seek legal advice in family law and housing issues, and the organizers discovered that clients enjoy the less formal atmosphere of the coffee house.
In an effort to improve the public image of lawyers in Wisconsin, the State Bar of Wisconsin recognized the efforts of the two co-founders of Legal Grounds Wisconsin® for their commitment to pro bono service. This recognition resulted in the creation of a television advertisement spotlighting the co-founders and their work on Legal Grounds Wisconsin.
To support replication of this project, Legal Grounds Wisconsin® developed an online "toolkit" to aid other legal services providers in establishing a coffee house staffed by pro bono attorneys. To learn more, access the online toolkit, the project proposal, and additional resources through the links below.
Contact Information:
Erin K. McBride
Managing Attorney
Wisconsin Judicare, Inc.
300 Third Street, Suite 210
P.O. Box 6100
Wausau, WI 54402-6100
Phone: (715)842-1681
Fax (715)848-1885
Email
Additional Information:
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