Legal Services State Support — Connecting the Legal Aid Community

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.

On October 9, 2024, the Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) will hold its Annual Awards Celebration to recognize colleagues who have demonstrated a commitment to public interest legal work. MJF’s Outstanding Service Awards were established in 1991 to honor the dedicated service, achievements, and excellence of students, lawyers in private practice or in-house settings for their pro bono work, and public interest legal service providers. MJF is pleased to announce this year’s award recipients!

• Advocate Award: Jenna Saverynski, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS)

• Direct Legal Service Award: Sarah K. Moore, Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM)

• Private Practice Lawyer Award: Clinton E. Cutler, Fredrikson & Byron P.A. and the University of Minnesota Law School’s Bankruptcy Clinic

Photo credit: MPR News file photo

MPR News recently spoke with Sarah Moore, attorney at Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM), about the new consolidated housing court calendar and what it means for clients. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, hearings for housing related cases such as evictions appeared on general calendars for greater Minnesota judges, meaning that they could be scheduled at any time. Moore explained the hardships this presented for clients, such as getting time off work, arranging childcare, and transportation to name a few. During the pandemic courts moved online to Zoom, and it exponentially increased accessibility for both clients and their attorneys.

As the end of the moratorium on in-person hearings approached, the judiciary considered the positives that had resulted from holding proceedings virtually. With the housing court calendar now consolidated, and hearings taking place on Zoom as a matter of course, Moore noted how much more accessible LSNM is for those who need it most.

This summer, the Minnesota State Board of Continuing Legal Education announced that a new CLE category focusing on substance abuse, addiction, and/or mental health was approved and is now a requirement for all reporting attorneys. On February 23, 2024, the Minnesota Supreme Court amended the Board’s Rules to require one credit in this area per 3-year reporting cycle.  Category 1 lawyers due to report this year will not be required to submit this credit type.  Category 2 lawyers due to report in 2025 will be the first group of lawyers subject to this requirement. The new Rules became effective July 1, 2024.

Washington—Experts discuss the findings from a new survey on Americans’ knowledge of civil legal issues on the latest episode of LSC’s “Talk Justice” podcast, released August 13th. The recent survey of more than 2,000 Americans was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of LSC. It revealed widespread misconceptions about civil legal rights, and that many people do not reach out for help with their civil legal problems. Lee Rawles hosts the podcast conversation with LSC President Ron Flagg and Harris Poll Vice President Kathy Steinberg.

“A couple of the most compelling and probably most concerning findings [were] some of the misconceptions,” says Steinberg.

The survey revealed that 56% of Americans mistakenly believe they are entitled to free legal representation for all civil matters if they cannot afford a lawyer, a percentage that jumps to 67% among younger adults aged 18 to 34. Flagg says that he is unsurprised by these findings, noting that Americans are much more familiar with the criminal justice system than the civil and often do not understand the differences.