Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission Inc

Darlene was 91 years old and illiterate when she came to a legal services office for help with a foreclosure case. She had been the victim of predatory lending involving a mortgage broker who fraudulently inflated both her income and the value of her home. A legal services attorney filed an answer on her behalf and sought to have the note and mortgage declared void due to the mortgage broker’s fraud. The bank agreed to settle the case and dismiss the foreclosure. Darlene entered into a reverse mortgage, and the bank reduced her $92,000 debt to $17,000 saving her $75,000 and helping her keep her home.

That's the difference that having access to legal help can make and that's the sort of life changing activity that we were set up to strengthen in Wisconsin. We are a collaborative effort of service providers, publicy policy makers, academics and ordinary citizens who understand that sometimes people need to have access to legal assistance to have any chance of achieving equal justice under law.