Wisconsin
Lawyer
Vol. 81, No. 3, March
2008
Marquette Law School and Quarles & Brady open legal clinic in
Spanish-speaking community
On Feb. 13 the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic, in partnership with
Quarles
& Brady LLP, opened its doors on Milwaukee's south side. While the
clinic
is located in the Spanish Center and is staffed with bilingual volunteer
attorneys, law students, and interpreters, any person with a legal need
and no
financial means to pay for legal advice is welcome.
According to Quarles & Brady associate Katie Perhach, who
coordinates
the volunteer effort, "Word of mouth is spreading quickly. In our
first three
weeks we met with 25 people, and not just from the surrounding
community. We have
seen people from West Allis and New Berlin.
"While we strive to have two translators available during
clinic hours, I
am amazed at the number of Marquette students who are bilingual and can
help
out when the translators are busy," says Perhach, a Marquette 2000
graduate.
"My goal for now is to have three lawyers available during clinic
hours, and I
have 25 Quarles & Brady lawyers on my call list."
In 2001 the Association for Women Lawyers began working with law
students
to develop the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic as a pro bono project.
In
January 2002 the clinic opened its doors at the House of Peace and has
assisted
more than 3,000 people in its first five years.
According to Marquette adjunct law professor and clinic steering
committee
chair Julie Darnieder, "Law students meet people with real life
issues, learn how
to conduct interviews, and work with practicing attorneys as they
determine
the issue and develop a strategy for resolving the issue. Many of our
lawyer volunteers started with the clinic as students. We are very
grateful for
this partnership with Quarles & Brady, which has allowed us to
expand to a part
of Milwaukee that has tremendous unmet legal needs, similar to our north
side location. Working with a Spanish-speaking population further
enhances the
skills of our law students."
The new clinic operates in the Spanish Center, 614 W. National Ave.
on Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m.
Wisconsin Lawyer
