Legal Services State Support — Connecting the Legal Aid Community

Ron Elwood, supervising attorney of the Legal Services Advocacy Project (of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid) recently spoke with KSTP 5 Eyewitness News about tenants in the Twin Cities area who reported being without heat or hot water in their homes over the last month. Elwood explained “Our role is to make sure that the law is followed, and tenant’s rights are protected. He added that, “It is required that not only folks have heat, but that heat is at 68 degrees or more during the winter.”

If a renter is without heat, Elwood noted that an emergency tenants’ remedies action can be filed in court with guidance from a lawyer. He outlined various remedies a judge can order, and an emergency action will expedite the process.

As of January 1, other new Minnesota laws went into effect to protect tenant’s rights, and the KSTP website highlights resources and help available through Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid and LawHelpMN.org.

Today marks the first day of the Legal Services Corporation’s (LSC) 25th Innovations in Technology Conference (ITC), the largest annual event dedicated to expanding access to justice through tech. Over 700 people will be in attendance at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown January 13 -15, traveling from 47 states, the District of Columbia, two U.S. territories and Canada.

This year, the two-and-a-half-day conference features over55 sessions and 150 speakers, with 19 sessions available to stream for free online. Technologists, legal aid advocates, court personnel, law school professors, pro bono coordinators and other professionals will converge at these events to share educational presentations about a wide range of technology projects.

Minnesota’s delegation this year includes staff from Legal Services State Support, Justice North, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS), Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM), and the Legal Services Advisory Committee (LSAC). The conference itinerary includes the following sessions featuring Minnesota participants, and the full schedule including sessions that can be streamed online can be found here: 2025 ITC Agenda with Session Information.pdf | Powered by Box

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison recently shared information on how to avoid common immigration-related scams via press release. The warning is part of the Attorney General’s monthly Scam Stopper series, aiming to help protect Minnesota consumers from common scams. 

"One unfortunate thing I’ve learned in fighting scammers is that they often target people in need or in search of assistance," said Ellison. "Right now, con artists posing as immigration attorneys are lying to, cheating, and stealing money from people who came to Minnesota to build a better life for themselves and contribute to our state. Please be on the lookout for these scams, spread the word about them, and if you uncover one, report it to the authorities.” 

Effective Jan. 1, 2025, the Minnesota Supreme Court requires all electronic exhibits, including documents, photographs, audio files, and video files to be uploaded using the Minnesota Digital Exhibit System (MNDES). In response to the increase in remote hearings, the MNDES pilot program was made available on an optional basis for the past several years. Beginning on January 1st, the system is mandatory for all in-person and remote hearings statewide.

Secure digital access to any exhibits uploaded in a case are available to those involved, including the parties and their attorneys, as well as judges and juries, as needed.

Consumer law attorney Beth Goodell of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA), recently spoke with KARE 11 News about the surprising and often harsh realities of winning a case in small claims court. Namely, winning in court doesn’t mean recovering money immediately, but is merely the beginning of a complicated legal process. Ultimately, as this investigative piece reveals, a person may never recoup their losses.

To learn more about the legal process, KARE 11 spoke with Goodell and two victims about what it entails. “You can win and not really win,” Goodell said. Even after a successful judgement in the client’s favor, numerous additional steps, paperwork, and expenses are required. It’s frustrating, and without a lawyer to help track down the other party, it can also be nearly impossible to recoup losses.

On November 26, 2024, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) announced 31 new Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) totaling $5.9 million. LSC’s TIG program supports civil legal aid organizations who seek to leverage technology for the delivery of high-quality legal assistance to low-income Americans. Organizations in 22 states are receiving TIG funding this year.

Established in 2000, the TIG program distributes grants annually to LSC-funded legal services providers. Grant recipients have used this funding to enhance online resources for self-represented litigants, make existing tools more mobile-friendly, deploy AI to streamline intake and client services, and more.

Legal Services State Support is excited to join a collaborative effort led by Legal Aid of West Virginia and the Stanford Legal Design Lab to create a “common legal help AI model.” Organizations from seven states will join the Stanford Legal Design Lab to research, train, evaluate, and pilot an AI model that can be used to power various future digital services, drawing from local, authoritative legal information. State Support, which runs LawHelpMN.org, will be joined by their counterparts in West Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Oregon and Michigan to draw on the trusted legal information included in the legal information and referral websites in each of these states. 

A new and invigorating era for civil legal aid in Minnesota will begin next summer. During the 2024 state legislative session, Minnesota Statutes 480.24 et seq were amended to create the State Board of Civil Legal Aid, an independent Judicial Branch agency responsible for the management of the civil legal services general fund appropriation. Effective July 1, 2025, the new State Board of Civil Legal Aid will join the State Board of Public Defense as an access-to-justice institution for those unable to afford private attorney representation in Minnesota.

Currently, and for the past four decades, the Minnesota Supreme Court has supervised legislative funds passed through the Judicial Branch to civil legal aid organizations through the Legal Services Advisory Committee (LSAC), which reviews and awards grant funding. The new board is charged with ensuring access to high-quality civil legal services in every Minnesota county by carrying out the following duties as outlined in the new statute:

For the first time, Legal Services State Support held its biennial statewide conference at Madden’s Resort on Gull Lake in Brainerd Minnesota. Bridging Worlds: Community, Culture, and the Work of Legal Aid, broke previous registration records, and reached resort capacity before registration officially closed in September. From November 6th - 8th, nearly 300 legal aid attorneys, advocates, administrative staff, and community partners took part in an array of conference sessions totaling 28.75 hours of continuing legal education credit.

On November 7th, the statewide awards dinner provided an evening of recognition and goodwill as conference attendees and guests gathered to honor their peers and notable community champions of legal aid’s work. Attendees were greeted with words of praise from their colleagues in the form of “shout-outs’ submitted to State Support ahead of the conference and then displayed on two screens during dinner.

On October 17, 2024, the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) announced the selection of Jennifer Stohl Powell, JD as the program’s new executive director. Stohl Powell has served as ILCM interim executive director since June.

“Immigrants and refugees are essential members of our community and make vital contributions to Minnesota and the nation,” said Stohl Powell. “The work of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota in supporting and defending their rights and helping them to work through the maze of immigration laws is crucially important. I look forward to continuing to work with the outstanding staff and volunteers of ILCM.”

Earlier this month, Dori Rapaport, executive director of Justice North, and Lee Richardson of Legal Aid of Arkansas, discussed their multi-faceted efforts to attract and retain high-quality attorneys and staff on LSC’s Talk Justice podcast. While it’s no secret that legal aid does not lead to the highest potential salaries in the profession, it does offer rewarding, and sometimes high impact work. Leaders must be creative with limited resources, familiar with their program’s most pressing legal needs, and knowledgeable about the priorities of public interest attorneys.

Each October Minnesota celebrates its pro bono commitment in tandem with the American Bar Association’s national Pro Bono Week Celebration. Pro bono work is a professional responsibility and an individual ethical commitment of each lawyer. Since 2009, legal organizations across America participate in the ABA’s national celebration because of the increasing need for pro bono services during harsh economic times and the unprecedented response of attorneys to meet this demand.

This year, the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM), Justice North, and the University of MN Law School invite you to participate in a week-long series of CLEs and social events for pro bono lawyers and advocates. Here’s a round-up of the weeks’ events:

This post was contributed by the Justice North staff

The Legal Paraprofessional Pilot Project began in late 2020 as a statewide pilot project that allowed approved Minnesota legal paraprofessionals to represent and advise clients in select matters with oversight by a licensed Minnesota attorney. The Pilot Project was intended to increase access to civil legal representation in case types where one or both parties typically appear without representation.

Justice North was an early adopter of this pilot project, and currently employs five legal paraprofessionals.

"We have seen the positive impact on our client communities through faster legal advice via our Hotline, one-on-one assistance with family law documents, and representation at mediations and court hearings," said Tiffany Doherty, Justice North's Director of Advocacy. "Talented paralegals now have the opportunity to expand on their skill set and continue to learn and grow while also assisting the client communities who badly need greater access to justice."

Earlier this month, it was announced that the pilot project will become a permanent program on January 1, 2025.