Each year the Legal Services Advocacy Project (LSAP) compiles a comprehensive review (with citations) of Minnesota law changes that, in whole or significant part, impact legal aid’s clients. LSAP is a statewide division of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA), which provides legislative and administrative advocacy on behalf of all legal services programs. LSAP attorneys Jessica Webster, Ellen Smart, and Ron Elwood work on discrete and systemic policy issues that affect the lives of thousands of Minnesotans every year.

Photo credit: © Glen Stubbe, Star Tribune

On July 25th, former legal aid attorney Sarah Hennesy took the oath of office as a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice. Following law school and a career start in the eastern U.S., Hennesy’s first job in Minnesota was with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA) in its St. Cloud office. Under the leadership of deputy director Ann Cofell, Hennesy was one of the first to counsel clients in the Stearns County Felony Domestic Violence Court. Later, she became Stearns County district judge.

Hennesy was appointed by Governor Walz to succeed Justice G. Barry Anderson, and she has served on the bench since mid-May ahead of her official wearing-in ceremony with Chief Justice Natalie Hudson.

On July 18, 2024, the Minnesota Judicial Council voted to adopt a new district court hearing framework that will reshape the way district courts conduct in-person and remote hearings to deliver justice in Minnesota. The new framework aims to bring statewide consistency to how district courts hold hearings in both criminal and non-criminal matters, while at the same time respecting judicial discretion and providing local flexibility.

“This new hearing framework builds on all of the lessons we learned from the pandemic,” Minnesota Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson said. “We gathered feedback from more than 5,500 judicial officers, staff, justice partners, litigants, and members of the public because we are committed to listening to the people we serve and delivering the highest-quality system of justice to the people of Minnesota.” 

This fall’s Legal Services Statewide Conference will offer attendees a focus on community, culture, and the work of legal aid as colleagues gather to reconnect, learn, and earn CLE credit. On Friday morning, November 8th, conference participants will join Dr. Johnanna Ganz, founder of J. Ganz Consulting, for “In Defense of Radical Hope: Fostering Change Through Interdependence and Possibility,” a candid conversation on the challenges facing our community-centered work and the dynamic responses available through radical hope, possibility, and interdependence. Dr. Ganz will help participants think through how to cultivate vision with practical action based on learning, insights, and connections built throughout the conference.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) joins Minnesota Legal Services Coalition programs this month for a forum and reception on Tuesday, July 23rd. Learn about Minnesotans’ consumer debt burden, issues impacting family and housing stability, and local experiments to improve meaningful access to civil legal aid where it is needed most. A reception will follow the legal forum to celebrate individuals and organizations—from Red Lake to Ramsey County—who are protecting the promise of justice for all.

The Forum on Increasing Access to Justice will be held at the Minneapolis Central Library, Pohlad Hall, from 2:30 - 5:30 p.m. and is presented in partnership with five Minnesota legal aid programs - Anishinabe Legal Services, Central Minnesota Legal Services, Justice North, Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota, and Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services.

Legal Aid is disappointed the Supreme Court has decided the Constitution allows governments to make it a criminal violation to be homeless.

In Minnesota, more than 7,000 people were turned away from homeless shelters last year. People who are homeless often have no choice except to sleep wherever they can.

Even without criminal citations, however, government entities have undertaken needlessly harsh actions toward Minnesotans who have no choice but to sleep outside. Such actions include destroying medicine, keepsakes and the few belongings of families who are homeless—often, without warning. Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, along with the ACLU of Minnesota and Ballard Spahr, has filed a lawsuit that seeks to end those practices.

Join State Support and your colleagues in Brainerd MN on Wednesday evening, November 6, at 7:00 p.m. as we kick-off the 2024 Legal Services Statewide Conference. Our featured speaker for the first night of the conference is Dr. Anton Treuer (pronounced troy-er), Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of numerous books.

Dr. Treuer has presented all over the U.S. and the world on his book “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask,” cultural competency, racial equity, strategies for addressing the “achievement” gap, and tribal sovereignty, history, language, and culture.

In a recent episode of the LSC podcast, Talk Justice, legal tech researchers discuss their field study of generative artificial intelligence (AI) for legal aid. Colleen Chien and Miriam Kim authored a paper on their research, “Generative AI and Legal Aid: Results from a Field Study and 100 Use Cases to Bridge the Access to Justice Gap,” which was published in April. The co-authors want to advance the conversation around generative AI for access to justice with data. Bréyon Austin, a participant in the study, also offers her perspective.

Legal Services State Support is excited to officially announce the 2024 Legal Services Statewide Conference: Bridging Worlds: Community, Culture, and the Work of Legal Aid. The conference will take place from Wednesday, November 6 to Friday, November 8 at a new location this year – Madden’s on Gull Lake! For the first time at this beautiful Brainerd Lakes area resort, we anticipate strong attendance and engagement with colleagues from across Minnesota.

The conference will kick off on Wednesday evening November 8th with American academic Anton Treuer, distinguished professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of numerous books on equity, education, and cultural work.

Registration opens July 1st for Standpoint’s annual domestic violence training series, New Laws 2024, the most publicly visible of its training programs. New Laws 2024 is the single greatest source of up-to-date legal information on domestic violence for advocates and professionals. New Laws utilizes a "train the trainer" model, where critical information is provided to a core group of people who then disburse it in wider circles.

For each location on its Minnesota road trip itinerary, the series provides two days of impactful material on sexual and domestic violence. The first day provides attendees with special topic presentations, followed by a second day that focuses on changes in federal and Minnesota statutory and case law over the previous year.

The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) recently announced the winners of its annual Bernard P. Becker Legal Services Staff Awards. Each of the four honorees has provided exemplary service to those in our community most vulnerable to injustice.

Legal Services of Northwest MN (LSNM) is harnessing the power of technology to connect with the local community, and beyond, through two new innovative services: The Legal Table and Virtual Legal Clinics.

Crystal Jamerson, community engagement & outreach coordinator for LSNM, launched The Legal Table virtual series earlier this year as a way to bring legal experts and community advocates together around a topic while inviting the public to “sit down” from the comfort of their home or office and join them. The hour-long “table” discussion includes brief presentations about the law, available community resources, and an opportunity to ask questions.

On May 10, 2024, Governor Tim Walz announced Veena Iyer, current executive director of Immigrant Law Center of MN (ILCM), as one of two new appointees to the Second Judicial District, which covers Ramsey County.

Veena Iyer and Jennifer Verdeja fill the vacancies created upon the elevation to the Minnesota Court of Appeals of the Honorable JaPaul Harris and the retirement of the Honorable Elena Ostby.

In December 2020, the Institute for Well-Being in Law was formed to carry on a grassroots movement launched by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being at the American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting four years prior. The task force was comprised of the National Organization of Bar Counsel, the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL) and the ABA Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs. Two national studies that demonstrated the unacceptably high rates of depression, anxiety, and problematic drinking among U.S. lawyers and law students were the impetus that started it all.

A2J Tech, Minnesota’s Reach Justice technology partner, presented a webinar last month to provide insights into the development, funding, and implementation of Legal Kiosks and how this innovative project is enhancing community access to legal resources and the internet. Dori Rapaport, executive director of Justice North, was on hand to talk about Minnesota’s kiosk experience and she was joined by Elliott Fontenette of Texas Legal Services Center, and Susan Meyers of Nevada Legal Services.

In its Breaking the Ice series, Minnesota Lawyer recently spoke with Milo Mumgaard, the new executive director of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA). Mumgaard officially took the reins in late February following a nationwide search that began last October. He previously served as executive director for legal aid programs in Arkansas and Nebraska. In this interview-as-introduction to the larger legal community, Mumgaard talks about being an extrovert and how his values drove him in the direction of law.

Two years ago, Angela Davis with MPR News spoke with three guests about tackling Minnesota’s medical debt burden, and the State’s plans to change how that debt is handled by providers and the courts. One of the guests was Laura Orr, staff attorney with the Minnesota Elder Justice Center, and a former elder law attorney at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS). Laura was joined by Allison Sesso, president and CEO of RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit organization that uses donations to buy and forgive medical debt, and Kim Miller, a certified financial counselor with LSS Financial Counseling, a service of Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota.

Last month, the Hennepin County Attorney’s office announced a new policy that will ease and hasten the process of acquiring both U and T visas for noncitizen crime victims. To address the fear of deportation that keeps many noncitizens from reporting crimes, it is hoped the new guidelines will encourage those who may be victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or trafficking, to contact authorities and seek help.

Legal Services State Support is happy to announce its newly redesigned website for the legal aid community — www.mnlegalservices.org. The new site brings a fresh appearance and fewer clicks to get to familiar content, as well as the ability to become a member of the site for access to on-demand training and other exclusive content when available.

Laura Isenor, staff attorney with the Education Law Advocacy Project at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS), logged an important decision for her client at the Minnesota Court of Appeals last month. Isenor filed a special education complaint to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) in August regarding the suspension of a student with an emotional disturbance for which no written notice was given.