LEADER IN THE LAW – Karen Bauer — Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee

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After working as a paralegal for a decade at a bankruptcy law firm, Karen Bauer decided to attend law school.

“I saw how predatory loans and other issues faced by consumers caused them to file for bankruptcy and I wanted to be a part of the solution,” said Bauer, managing attorney on the Consumer Protection Project at the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee.

At Legal Aid, she’s worked on a variety of cases “from working on systemic issues around wage garnishment to auto sales fraud cases. Getting to work on our Eviction Free MKE, a right-to-counsel initiative for eviction defense, has been amazing. It is truly a game-changer for Milwaukee,” said Bauer.

Prior to joining Legal Aid, Bauer worked at Wisconsin Judicare.

“Karen has dedicated her career to providing the highest quality legal representation to low-income Wisconsin residents,” said Legal Aid Executive Director Colleen Foley.

Bauer is an active volunteer within the legal sphere, serving as a District 2 governor on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Board of Governors. She also served for nearly two years as an advisor for the Greater Wisconsin Initiative Working Group, providing advice on student loan repayment issues in the group’s work to resolve the challenge of access to justice in Wisconsin’s less populated counties. Bauer also served as a member of Gov. Tony Evers’ Student Debt Task Force in 2020.

Her latest volunteer efforts involve working for the U.S. Department of Education in the General Counsel’s office.

“Balancing volunteerism with my usual caseload isn’t always easy. Good time management helps, but so does having a supportive boss,” Bauer said.