May 15, 2019 – When Milwaukee attorney Jill Kastner begins her one-year term as State Bar President, July 1, 2019, access to justice will be one of her top priorities.

Kastner, a lawyer at Legal Action of Wisconsin, said she will be looking for many volunteers to help improve access to justice – one of the State Bar’s strategic priorities – from the pro bono program and the volunteer lawyers’ project to working committees.

“To the extent people are interested, I would really love to hear about it,” said Kastner, who gave opening remarks at the 2019 Equal Justice Conference in March.

Kastner has dedicated herself to providing legal services to low-income clients, and she’s hoping more members will help her lead the State Bar charge on access to justice when her presidential term begins.

“It’s so important for people to have lawyers and their representation,” she said. “Having a lawyer makes a difference in being evicted or having stable housing, living under a bridge or having the benefits they need.”

“These are the types of things that we need to promote as a State Bar, and as lawyers,” she said. “We have a number of initiatives, from pro bono initiatives to improving the administration of justice, improving relationships between the bench/bar, advocating for better public defender pay, advocating for civil legal service pay so we are able to provide greater services to those who are most vulnerable in our population.”

Want to serve as a volunteer on access to justices issues? Contact Jeff Brown, the State Bar’s pro bono program manager, by email or by phone at (608) 250-6177.