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Statistics show poor are under-served The State Bar of Wisconsin’s "Bridging the Justice Gap" report shows that the state has a significant number of poor people, whose legal needs are not being adequately met. The report found: dUp to 80 percent of poor households that confront legal needs do so without legal assistance. dMore than 500,000 people in Wisconsin — many with jobs, families and homes who pay taxes — face significant legal trouble without legal assistance. dWisconsin is the only state in the Midwest providing no funding for general civil legal services.

A Wisconsin Access to Justice Study Committee thoroughly exposed a problem which most attorneys and judges were subconsciously aware of — a colossal gap in the number of low-income residents who need legal assistance, and those who actually get it.

The nearly two-year study titled “Bridging the Justice Gap: Wisconsin’s Unmet Legal Needs” revealed that as many as 80 percent of poor households in Wisconsin face legal challenges without any expert assistance.

According to committee chairman Judge Richard J. Sankovitz, the problem is not unique to Wisconsin, but a lack of financial assistance is, due to a lack of state funding and the limited reach of Legal Aid and other non-profit organizations.

“Society needs to take ownership of the problem,” said Sankovitz during his presentation to the Wisconsin State Bar Board of Governors on March 9.

More Money Equals Less Need

Though the study’s survey of over 1,100 low-income households revealed that as many as 500,000 state residents are subjects of “significant legal troubles without legal assistance,” the most striking number was zero.

That is the amount that Wisconsin has spent on general civil legal services for the poor, one of only five states in the country which has not allotted budget funding for the problem.

None of the non-contributors were immediate neighbors of Wisconsin. Ohio ($14 million), Minnesota ($12 million) and Michigan ($7 million), are among the national leaders in public funding for civil legal services.

A reported $1 million for has been proposed for the 2007-09 budget by Gov. Jim Doyle to provide legal support for the poor, but the study estimated a need for at least $16 million in state funding.

“I harbor no pretences that the funding would solve the problem, but it would meet the needs of people who are currently being turned down,” said Sankovitz.

The study suggested that non-profit legal service organizations meet 20 percent of the demand for legal assistance and hundreds of thousands of new cases arise each year.

“For every client that is helped, at least one other person is turned away for lack of funds,” said Sankovitz. “Even if every lawyer in the state took on an additional case, we wouldn’t come close to solving the problem.”

Bar Initiative

State Bar President Steven A. Levine was supportive of the study’s revelations and in addition to state funding, but believed the Bar has a chance to alter their financial contributions to the cause.

Levine hopes to champion a State Bar Pro Bono Trust Fund which would draw contributions from members throughout the year specifically for legal services for the poor.

“For a problem like this, money needs to come from several different sources and I think that the Bar could do their part by setting up a trust fund, rather than soliciting at the end of each year,” said Levine, who acknowledged his opposition to the mandatory $50 Wis-consin Trust Account Foundation (WisTAF) fee collected annually from Wisconsin attorneys.

Levine’s plan would involve voluntary contributions disseminated by an independent entity appointed by the State Bar president and approved by the Board. Funds would be distributed to a variety of groups which provide civil legal services for the poor.

“I know the WisTAF discussion has sparked a lot of controversy, but this may be another option to explore,” said Levine.

The legal needs study recommended the continuation of the $50 assessment and asked that judges’ exemption from the fee be waived.

Both measures were in-line with Board-supported proposals to modify the current Supreme Court rules regarding WisTAF. Four other proposals, including one which suggested another organization other than WisTAF collect and disperse donations, were defeated at the March 9 meeting.

“I think the two supported proposals are consistent with the legal needs assessment study’s recommendations,” said Gov. Kenneth A. Knudson.

Though the Bar has yet to publicly support or oppose the study, many on the board appeared supportive of the suggested solutions.

Levine expected discussion to circulate on aspects of the
study either at the board’s May or September meetings.