The Milwaukee Justice Center is teaming up with the Milwaukee Bar Association and Marquette University Law to get the wheels of justice turning in local communities—literally. Their mobile clinic takes volunteer attorneys and law students into Milwaukee neighborhoods to provide free legal advice and other referral assistance to low-income community members with a law office on wheels.
Listen to the audio story below to learn more about the Milwaukee Justice Center's mobile legal clinic and how it might be able to help you.
Inside the mobile legal clinic
The legal clinic hit the Milwaukee streets for the first time in September of 2013. It was inspired by Marquette’s successful volunteer legal clinic but takes the concept a step further by taking the attorneys straight to the people.
The mobile clinic crew is only able to help Milwaukeeans with civil cases. This means people can get free legal advice and referrals for those dealing with landlord-tenant issues, debt collection, small claims, issues, family law issues like child support and more.
The clinic regularly parks in front of other Milwaukee organizations like St. Johns Church in West Allis or the Hope House on Milwaukee’s South Side. This allows community members to double up and get other needs taken care of as they wait to speak with an attorney about their case.
“One of the best parts of the mobile clinic is traveling to places where people are already comfortable, already find help in thoseorganizations,” said Mary Ferwerda, the Executive Director of the Milwaukee Justice Center. “It’s a really inventive way to build community."
The mobile clinic will be parked at Bradley Crossing in Brown Deer on March 14 and visits the Hope House this Saturday, March 16. For a full schedule of the mobile clinic, visit their calendar here.