The
Ryan Klesh Outstanding Public Interest Legal Worker Award honors an individual who captures the essence of Ryan Klesh’s selflessness, work ethic, and humor in seeking justice for our low-income neighbors, family, or friends.
Lue Yang, a paralegal with Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc., Green Bay, is this year's recipient. Mr. Yang's passion for assisting those from disadvantaged and marginalized communities is rooted in his lived experiences as a 17-year-old refugee from Laos. Upon arriving in the United States, he began learning English and studying sociology. He was soon captivated by the justice system and became determined to learn as much as he could about it.
Mr. Yang has now been with Legal Action for more than 34 years, primarily working on public benefits matters, helping people obtain and protect essential basic needs – food, shelter, and health care. He is also a leader in the Brown County Hmong community and helps Legal Action to better serve its Hmong clients. He helps translate letters and documents, provides interpretation services to the firm, and was essential in creating an online intake process accessible in the Hmong language.
Those who know him say that Mr. Yang is selfless, committed, unfailingly kind, and incredibly hardworking. He listens carefully, helps generously, and willingly shares his vast knowledge of public benefits law with colleagues, helping them to be better advocates for their clients.
Legal Action of Wisconsin Managing Attorney Katie Alft writes: “While Lue's colleagues see and appreciate him, he does not receive near enough thanks outside of these walls. He would tell you that he doesn't deserve it, that he's just doing his job. But he has spent decades working steadfastly for thousands and thousands of low-income people in Wisconsin. Our firm, our Green Bay office, and our surrounding community have all been made significantly better by Lue's work."
