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  • March 07, 2012

    Pro Bono Initiative awards grants to new veteran's legal clinic and law school pro bono society, funds still available

    Pro Bono Initiative awards grants to new veteran’s legal clinic and law school pro bono society; funds still available

    From left: Julia Zwak, Americorps VISTA at U.W Law School; Wendy Burdick, U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program advocate; Marybeth Urbin, Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Homeless Program coordinator; Jeffrey Brown, State Bar of Wisconsin Pro Bono coordinator; Dr. D. Dean Krahn, Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital; Edward Zapala, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans justice outreach specialist; Ann Zimmerman, U.W. Law School pro bono coordinator, and William Ganem, Dane County Veterans Service Office, veterans service officer.

    March 7, 2012 – The State Bar Legal Assistance Committee has awarded Pro Bono Initiative grants to Dane County Veterans Legal Clinic to start a free legal clinic and to the U.W. Law School to recruit law students to work on pro bono matters.

    The Dane County Veterans Legal Clinic received a grant to start a new free legal clinic for veterans in the Dane County area. The project is administered by the U.W. Law School’s pro bono program and is a collaborative effort with initial support from the Dane County Veterans Service Office, the State Bar of Wisconsin pro bono program, representatives from the Wm. S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, and the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program. Volunteer attorneys and law students will staff the clinic at the local veterans service office in Madison. The project is modeled on a similar effort in Milwaukee. The clinic aims to launch by Veterans Day, Nov. 12, 2012.

    The U.W. Law School received a grant to help launch its new Pro Bono Society. With the assistance of the law school’s new pro bono coordinator and an Americorps VISTA coordinator, the law school is implementing an ambitious effort to recruit and recognize law student pro bono efforts. The program recruits volunteer attorneys to work with law students on pro bono matters. Additional special events will be organized throughout the school year to engage more law students in pro bono service. Students completing 50 hours of pro bono legal services during law school will be inducted into the Pro Bono Society and receive special recognition at graduation.

    Pro Bono Initiative awards grants to new veteran’s legal clinic and law school pro bono society; funds still available

    Pro Bono Society coordinators Julia Zwak, Americorps VISTA (left), and Ann Zimmerman, U.W. Law School.

    Grants available

    Pro Bono Initiative Grants are still available. Requests should be submitted using the grant application forms available online.

    The State Bar Pro Bono Initiative is a statewide-coordinated program to support, recognize, and increase lawyers’ volunteer legal efforts. In collaboration with the judiciary, legal services providers, and local bar organizations, the initiative works to improve public access to the legal system by promoting solutions that eliminate barriers to effective access to the civil justice system.

    For more information, contact Jeff Brown at (608) 250-6177, or (800) 444-9404, ext. 6177. Visit Wisbar for more State Bar pro bono program information.

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