The Third Branch
Milwaukee County legal-related service programs expand to meet need
By Kellee Selden-Huston, Milwaukee Legal Resource Center
More and more people are depending on the free law-related services in the Milwaukee County Courthouse, including the Milwaukee Legal Resource Center (MLRC) and the Milwaukee Justice Center (MJC), which partners with Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic.
The MLRC is serving about 55 percent more people than just one year ago. Approximately 3,680 people used the MLRC in January 2012, compared to an average of 2,080 patrons per month in 2011. That's true even though the Resource Center is temporarily operating in a space (Room G10-1) that's only one-third the size of its former location.
Once a "law library" serving mostly judges and lawyers, the MLRC's collection of printed materials has been reduced significantly to fit in the temporary location. It still serves lawyers and judges, but its services to the general public have increased both in kind and numbers, according to Head Librarian Lynne Gehrke.
"Very few people who come through our door are self sufficient. Almost every single person needs assistance, and their needs are expanding. We now create as many as 35 Access accounts in a day for fee waivers, and we are the only location in the courthouse to assist with electronic filing of the real estate transfer tax. Those are services that we didn't even offer a year ago," Gehrke said.
She and her three-person staff sell forms for divorces, modification motions, name changes, stipulations, de novos, paternity and other family law forms. The library users need assistance with a variety of questions ranging from researching law case and finding the right courtroom, to setting up online accounts and making copies.
The MLRC staff also sees to it that judges have up-to-date resources in their chambers and on their benches and provides research assistance to attorneys.
After supplying legal forms or packets, MLRC staff often refers patrons to the MJC's Family Law Self-Help Desk for assistance in filling out forms or the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic at the MJC for free legal assistance.
The Family Law Self-Help Desk, located in Room G9, has recently expanded its volunteer hours to help pro se litigants from 8:30 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
"We have doubled the number of people we are seeing," MJC Legal Director Ayame Metzger said. "I think that makes it a success." The increased days and hours of the clinic mean more people can get assistance during regular business hours every week day.
The volunteers and law students at the MJC Family Law Self-Help Desk focus on family court questions. Metzger explains: "We don't give any legal advice at the pro se clinic. We give out legal information, assist in filling out forms and supply information on how to file those forms."
Volunteers can help with divorces, modifications in child support and placement issues, reopening paternity claims, restraining orders, name changes, stipulations, contempt motions and motions to modify grandparents' rights. They don't help with anything that is done in children's court, such as guardianship issues. The MJC doesn't handle real estate issues or electronic filings that need to be done for transferring deeds.
Metzger is employed by the Milwaukee Bar Association and its Foundation, which works with Marquette Law School and Milwaukee County to provide the funding, volunteers, forms and supplies the free clinics need.
In addition to the Family Law Self-Help Desk, MJC partners with Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic to provide brief legal advice and referrals to pro se litigants.
The brief legal advice clinic is located in Room 106 of the courthouse on Thursdays and Fridays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and offers help with small claims and other more in-depth matters requiring legal answers. MJC Executive Director Atty. Dawn Caldart and the staff of volunteer attorneys and law students help with issues that often arise in small claims and civil court.
Together, the MLRC, the MJC and the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic help the courts run more smoothly by reducing the number of ill-prepared litigants.