For the first time in recent memory, advocates for expanding civil legal services for indigent clients in Wisconsin want the Legislature to study the effects it would have on the state.

A state Supreme Court rules petition that aims to establish a pilot project to study the appointment of counsel in civil cases will most likely not be heard until at least later this year.

A longtime managing attorney of Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc. will take over as executive director next week.

The state’s civil courts are the realm of the rich, those who can afford as many lawyers as they need.

Domestic violence groups are showing an interest in a potential state Supreme Court rule that would give judges leeway on how to deal with those representing themselves in court. The rule, if the court adopts it, would permit judges to “make reasonable efforts to facilitate the ability of all litigants, including self-represented litigants, to be fairly heard.” It also would ...

John Ebbott is stepping down from his role leading Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc., but his passion for equal representation remains strong.

The executive director of Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc. is retiring next year, marking the second high-profile loss to the Milwaukee legal services community this week.

A petition filed Monday with the state Supreme Court seeks to renew a push for civil appointments that previously died due to lack of financial support.

Reluctant to require counties to pay the cost of civil appointments for poor people, the Wisconsin Supreme Court may turn to the State Bar for money to develop one or more pilot projects and test an ambitious proposal that could ultimately cost about $56 million per year.

After losing state money earlier this year, legal service providers in Wisconsin are bracing for a dip in federal aid, as well.

As cost concerns loom over a proposal to expand civil appointments in state, members of the judiciary this week also began to question how such appointments would be divvied up without a plan for how to assign cases.

While the state Supreme Court considers a proposal to broaden the appointment of counsel in civil cases, Wisconsin and its counties are playing hot potato with who will pay for the plan if it gains approval.

Several judges and court commissioners made their case Tuesday before the state Supreme Court for a petition to provide appointed counsel in civil cases for pro se clients.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is weighing the value of requiring attorney appointments in most civil cases in circuit court. Those appointments could cost as much as $56 million annually. The court voted unanimously Wednesday to schedule a public hearing in fall on the petition, which attorney John Ebbott submitted Sept. 30. Ebbott said he was pleased the court decided to ...

At first glance, the bald head and boots may suggest attorney John Ebbott should be tearing up the asphalt in a Harley Davidson commercial rather than overseeing the administration of free legal services to the poor.