Legal Resource Navigators

Undergraduate students work with patients to help them connect with needed community resources and follow-up with them regularly to help them stay healthy. Law students receive referrals to help patients with health-harming legal needs. Patients receive preventative legal information and guidance as they navigate legal issues.

• Approximate hours of work requested: 2-4 hours per week
• Location: Extension Building (on campus)
• Training: Required to attend selected training sessions necessary for competency, become a UW Health Volunteer and Pro Bono ethics training. 
• Desired course or clinic experience: Preference will be given to students who have client-services experience. Fluency in Spanish or other languages a significant plus, as well as experience working with people with disabilities. Open to 1Ls, 2Ls, and 3Ls. 
• To participate: Contact Curran Cauldwood (cauldwood@wisc.edu) for more information.

Community Immigration Law Center
Christ Presbyterian Church
944 E. Gorham St.
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-640-4447

CILC provides legal information regarding immigration to individuals and groups who might otherwise not have access to the legal system. CILC does this through walk-in legal clinics, know-your-rights presentations, and other community outreach activities. More information can be found on this CILC Volunteer flyer (PDF). CILC grew out of a series of meetings with people from various legal, social, and faith-based organizations who shared a concern about the lack of affordable legal services for noncitizens in our community.

• CILC Consultation Day:
  Volunteers conduct intakes on behalf of CILC attorneys with walk-in clients. Foreign language skills are not required, though preferred.
  • Schedule: 2nd and 4th Friday of the month.
  • Location: Christ Presbyterian Church (address above).
  • Approximate hours of work requested: 4 hours per shift (1-5pm).
  • Training: Trainings are held in-person several times throughout the year. A recording is available if a volunteer is unable to attend a live training.
  • To participate: Contact attorney Natalia Lucak for more information.

Dane County Bar Association Legal Clinics
Dane County Courthouse (or Virtual)
215 S. Hamilton Street
Madison, WI 53706

The Dane County Bar Association offers several programs which provide community members with legal information, free of charge. The programs are staffed by volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students.

• The Estate Planning Clinic
  The Estate Planning Clinic operates in person several Saturdays throughout the year. Volunteers assist low-income individuals prepare basic estate planning documents.
  • Schedule: 8:30am-12pm on several Saturdays throughout the year.
  • Location: Madison College campuses in Madison (rotating).
  • Approximate hours of work requested: approximately 10 hours per semester.
  • Training: Students view a 30-minute training video about the program. Students must also sign a confidentiality agreement.
  • Desired course or clinic experience: All grade levels (1L-3L) are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary.
  • To participate: Interested students in the Estate Planning Clinic should contact Jennifer Binkley at jenniferb@communityjusticeinc.org.
    
    
• The Veteran’s Law Center (VLC) 
  VLC operates virtually and in person. Volunteers give information on court procedures, refer clients to community resources, provide legal advice and assistance, and help complete forms and provide filing instructions alongside a volunteer attorney.
  • Location: Virtually or at the Dane County Courthouse (address above)
  • Approximate hours of work requested: approximately 10 hours per semester.
  • Training: Students complete a 1-hour mandatory training session on clinic procedures, professional responsibility, ethics, and a general overview of VLC.  Students must also sign a confidentiality agreement.
  • Desired course or clinic experience: All grade levels (1L-3L) are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary.
  • To participate: Contact DCBA Legal Clinics for the training information.

Learn various areas of law by conducting research to assist attorneys in answering citizen questions posted to the Free Legal Answers website, hosted by the American Bar Association.

• Structure: You will sign up for 2-3 weeks to be “on call” during the summer. During those “on call” weeks, you may be assigned a question by a volunteer attorney. Your question will be assigned between Monday and Wednesday during your “on call” week; your draft answer is due back to the volunteer attorney within 48 hours of receipt. This is intentional, to mimic real-world practice where clients expect a timely response. The volunteer attorney will review your draft, make any changes necessary, and submit it back to the client through Free Legal Answers. The attorney will share their final response with you and give feedback on your draft. We are using the phrase “on call” and that you “may” be assigned a question because of the nature of the Free Legal Answers site. There may be weeks where there are no questions available or appropriate for a student to draft. That is why we are asking that students sign up for 2-3 weeks this summer, so that there is a greater likelihood that you will receive a question.
• Content: The volunteer attorneys are not looking for lengthy memos. Often, responses are only a few sentences. If a question depends on a lot of other factors or is too complex for a quick response, your response may simply be referring the client to different agencies or resources that are more equipped to help.
• Time commitment: 1-2 hours per question. You may sign up for 2-3 “on call” weeks during the summer. The program will run from 6/2 – 8/11.
• Location: Virtual. All work performed independently and correspondence is over email.
• Experience required: None. Open to all grade levels.
• Skills gained from this experience: Working on a deadline; writing concisely; summarizing complex legal information in a way that clients from non-legal backgrounds can understand; client communication.
• Areas of law: family law, small claims, business law, contracts, general litigation.
• To participate: Click here to fill out a form expressing your interest. Once the volunteer schedule is finalized, you will receive an email asking you to sign up for your on call weeks. Email lslaker@wisc.edu for more information. 

Legal Action of Wisconsin (LAW)
744 Williamson Street, Suite 200
Madison, WI 53703
855-947-2529

Legal Action of Wisconsin (LAW) is the state’s largest non-profit law firm providing free civil legal services to Wisconsin clients at the most vulnerable times in their lives. For more than 50 years, we’ve changed and improved lives by making sure the civil legal system works for everyone.

• Pro Bono Debtor Rights Program*
  UW Law and Legal Action have teamed up to counsel low-income individuals about bankruptcy and other tools to address creditor harassment.  Student volunteers assist volunteer attorneys with telephone counseling sessions and client follow-up.  
  • Approximate hours of work requested: Friday mornings from 10am-12pm 
  • Schedule: Fridays, May 16 - August 8
  • Location: Remote. Though students who are present in Madison can also volunteer to work with Legal Action staff to help prepare bankruptcy petitions. 
  • Commitment: Students are asked to commit to at least one two-hour volunteer session; each petition takes approximately 20 hours to complete

  • Training: A Zoom training for new volunteers will take place from 10am-noon on Tuesday, May 13.  Please email megan.mcdermott@wisc.edu if you would like more information about the program or would like the Zoom link and training materials.  

• Virtual Background Check Clinics

  Assist Legal Action of Wisconsin at in-person and virtual background check clinics where we go through a client's background check to identity any arrest cycles that can be corrected, expunged, or pardoned. Law students work in teams with pro bono attorneys to go through documents, look things up on WCCA/CCAP, and take notes on advice given. Recorded trainings provided.

  Urban League clinics (in-person in Madison): https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054BABA828AAF85-47034578-urban#/

  Student Legal Aid clinics (virtual): https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4EAEAE2AABFDC61-virtual#/

Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics (MVLC)
The Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics (MVLC) provide free brief legal advice and referral services on civil legal matters including but not limited to: family law including divorce, child support, placement, custody; evictions & housing law; eviction records; debt/collections; small claims; small business; guardianship; probate; and more. The clinics are staffed by volunteer law students and attorneys.

• Approximate hours of work requested: Students must commit to volunteering 2 hours per week (1 shift), and to participating for the full summer. 
• Schedule: Thursdays. Our summer session for pro bono will run May 12 through August 8, with a holiday break June 30-July 4.
• Training: A required remote training is provided.
• Location: Remote or in person. If you will be in Milwaukee this summer, in-person pro bono opportunities are available. Fill out this form to be contacted.
• Desired course or clinic experience: All grade levels (1L-3L) are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary.
• To participate: Limited spaces are available for participation in the remote clinic. Submit this form to indicated your interest and a member of the clinic staff will be in touch with you.

The Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic is a pro bono clinic providing resources to those who have been denied unemployment insurance by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Students, including first semester 1Ls, can represent UI claimants in their appeal hearings in front of Administrative Law Judges. Students gain substantive and procedural knowledge of Wisconsin unemployment law, as well as hone skills of direct and cross examination, submitting evidence, and client management.

If you're interested in public interest, trial advocacy, or labor and employment law, this is a great opportunity to gain experience and showcase a proficiency in those fields. Students work under local volunteer attorneys, creating relationships and mentorship connections. Participants in this pro bono clinic make a material difference in claimants' lives.

• Dates: Summer: every other Monday from 7-9pm, starting June 2 and ending July 28
• Location: Madison Labor Temple (1602 S. Park St. Madison, WI 53715) or remote. The Labor Temple is directly on several bus routes and has lots of parking.
• Training: Trainings are conducted every Fall and Spring semester. If you're interested in volunteering but have not yet been trained, contact the Student Managers at uwunemploymentappealsclinic@gmail.com to discuss options.
• Desired Course or Clinic Experience: None—all years are encouraged to participate.​
• How to Participate: If you're interested and would like more information or have any questions contact Trinity Giese or Madison Schwartz at trgiese@wisc.edu, meschwartz3@wisc.edu, or uwunemploymentappealsclinic@gmail.com.