Saturday, September 7, 2024
Contributed Photo
By Gene Kemmeter
The Portage County Legal Aid Society is observing an anniversary in 2024, 30 years of providing legal services to low-income residents of Portage County.
The society got its start in 1994 after the Portage County Bar Association followed a Wisconsin State Bar Association resolution calling for attorneys throughout the state to volunteer their time to provide free legal advice and services.
Maurice Rice, a local attorney and the head of the committee the county Bar Association directed to investigate the possible creation of the society, said the suggestion came because of the gap in services for low-income residents.
The state Public Defender program provided legal assistance to low-income defendants in criminal cases, and Judicare Wisconsin provided legal assistance to low-income residents in family issues such as divorce if evidence of child endangerment or abuse existed.
The county previously had a legal aid society in the 1970s, but phased it out when Wisconsin Judicare, a federally funded legal aid corporation, was created. The limitations on Judicare representation because of funding created gaps and led to the creation in 1994 of the new Legal Aid Society to handle representation for residents if their income was 125 percent of the federal poverty level or below.
Since its inception, the society has been evolving as changes were made to keep pace with needs within the local Society.
James Haferman, president of the Board for the Society, said among the present changes is the legal community.
“In Portage County, before I retired in 2018, six attorneys did family law exclusively or as a main part of their practice,” he said. “Now there are two experienced ones.”
The COVID pandemic also brought about changes in the types of legal work requiring attorneys. “We had a rise in cases regarding landlords and tenants,” Haferman said.
He said the Anderson Law Office has been wonderful to the society, providing attorneys and space for meetings and other activities to help with the society’s operation.
He recently obtained a list of attorneys practicing law in Portage County from the Wisconsin Bar Association, and said there are more than 100 attorneys listed. But when retirees, judges and corporate attorneys are subtracted, he said the list of available attorneys to handle cases shrinks considerably.
Presently, the society has an assistant who works eight hours per week, dealing with any initial contacts that are usually by telephone or email. The assistant will contact the inquirer and send an application, if appropriate. The society accepts only clients who are residents of Portage County. In 2023, the county received 128 contacts.
Clients are referred to an attorney at Lezcano Law Firm in Weston. An attorney there reviews the application to check if they qualify to meet residency and income guidelines of income at 125% or less of the poverty level.
Then the society will contact the individual, and sometimes just a note is necessary to give advice or directions. Otherwise, the law firm will search for an attorney to volunteer to handle the case. Often, the attorney will offer advice to calm people regarding their case, Haferman said, and between 20 and 30 individuals were served in 2023 with more involved efforts.
Funding has also changed for the program. The main source is now the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation (WisTaf), a charitable arm of the Wisconsin Bar Association created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Haferman said the Society also received funding from The Community Foundation of Portage County – Arthur Heinz Fund, American Family Insurance – James Check Agency, United Way of Portage County, Junior Women’s Fund and Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church, plus a bequest from William Bruce and many private donations, including several local attorneys.
Those funds are used for rent, office expenses, telephone, employee salaries and the Lezcano Law Firm, which is contracted for assistance.
For several years, CAP Services provided an administrative assistant, with space at 1608 W. River Drive. The late Karl Pnazek, former CEO and president of CAP, was instrumental in arranging space and staff for Legal Aid. In 2016, the Society moved to its current location at 1578 Strongs Ave..
Rebecca Paul provided emergency attorney legal services for several years until retiring in 2021. She also provided pro bono services. Haferman said the society is “forever grateful for Paul’s services to the organization. She took a lot of really tough cases.”
Other officers of the society are Meg Erler, vice president, and Linda Check, who has been secretary-treasurer since the Society was founded in 1994. Both Rice and Haferman praised Check for her volunteer service and institutional knowledge of the Society.
Haferman said the budget was $33,000 in 2023, and increases are mainly for inflation and contracts. The budget for 2024 is $54,000, he said.
The program seems to be working, and it would be nice to keep it working, he said, plus it would be nice to have more Bar members involved.
Rice, who now lives in La Crosse, has been on the Board of Directors since the beginning and served several terms as president after working to incorporate the society. He took a lot of cases for the society, he said, and relinquished his role of president for a short period of time before his successor quit, then resumed the role until Haferman replaced him.
“There were a lot of changes throughout the years,” Rice said. “It’s a lot more stable now than when we first opened.”
Other members of the board include Rice, Charmian Fournier, Liz Kammer, Karissa Friday, Kathleen Junion, Brian Formella and Stephen Sawyer. Annie Laurie-Zanter is the administrative assistant.
Rice said judges have also been supportive of the society through the years, but have refrained from taking an active role in its operation.
Other past presidents of the society besides Rice and Haferman include Formella, Adolph “Zeke” Torzewski, Sue Sippel, John Morser and Melissa Dalkert.
