What is civil legal aid?

Everyone should have the power to safeguard their legal rights and liberties. Anyone staring down a life-altering legal problem should be able to pursue a fair, legal solution.

But in our complex system, people who can't afford an attorney are often shut out of justice. This threatens their safety, their income, and their independence.

When "fairness" means an ally

“Heather,” from Northwestern Wisconsin, was “in hell." She had depleted her savings in years of court battles against her kids' father and felt "humiliated in court ... uncomfortable and unheard." Then Indianhead Community Action Agency took her case. Finally, she drew a “calm breath of relief.... I wasn’t alone anymore. That was all I needed.”

Did you know there is no guarantee of an attorney in most matters of civil law? In other words, in almost all cases in our legal system, you are not entitled to an attorney. (Everyone knows the famous exception: when you're accused of a crime.) This is a big deal. Without legal assistance, it's much harder for people to escape domestic violence, correct wrongful denial of health coverage, or surmount technicalities (like those caused by long-ago misdemeanors) that keep them from working.

This is not only unjust. Ultimately, this situation has an economic impact on the whole community.

In addition, there is an impact on the judicial system. Our legal system is highly technical. When people "go it alone" without attorneys, their cases move slowly and create court backlogs. Judges also have a harder time getting the information they need to make decisions they and the public can feel confident about.

WisTAF exists to address these issues. As our state's IOLTA organization, we use all funding we receive to increase people's access to justice in civil matters.

Our grants make an impact - but they are not enough. In our largest grant program, providers now turn away more people than they serve, for one simple reason: they do not have enough funding to help every survivor of domestic violence, every victim of financial fraud or error, or every worker striving for greater independence, through resolving legal problems. Click the button below to help provide fairness - to those who can't afford to pay for it.