For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: December 6, 2021
Free legal help offered through Lawyers for Learners partnership
Fennimore -Southwest Wisconsin Technical College has recently partnered with legal aid program Lawyers for Leaners to make free legal help more accessible to its student and community members
Numerous barriers, from the financial to the legal, can prevent people from achieving their academic and career goals. In partnering with Lawyers for Learners, Southwest Tech reaffirms its commitment to providing students and community members with the resources they need to overcome those barriers and make their goals a reality.
Founded in 2019, Lawyers for Learners connects people experiencing legal issues, or potential legal issues, with legal professionals from businesses, law firms and legal aid organizations. These legal professions meet with people for free to explain the legal process, answer questions, and provide advice on a variety of legal topics, including employment, family matters, housing, immigration, bankruptcy and criminal issues.
As part of its partnership with Lawyers for Learners, Southwest Tech will help students and community members identify legal issues, share information about Lawyers for Learner and provide campus space, internet access and video conferencing technology for students and community members to meet with legal professionals.
Here is a real-life example of how Lawyers for Learners can help students through legal difficulties. A student’s ability to work in her chosen field of healthcare and her ability to continue with her studies in healthcare were interrupted when the state put her on the caregiver registry due to an incident that happened with a patient who had a history of abusive contact and language with nursing home staff. The Lawyers for Learners Clinic assisted her in requesting and preparing for rehabilitation review hearing, including obtaining support letters from school staff. Her request was granted, and she is now able to seek employment in a field she loves, continue her studies, and better be able to support herself and her children.
“Legal issues can not only be daunting but also huge obstacles in people’s lives,” said Norma Kropp, legal services chair at Madison College and a founding member of Lawyers for Learners. “Because of their close connections with students and the community, colleges can bridge the gap between legal issues people experience and the legal solutions Lawyers for Learners offers. We hope to continue expanding Lawyers for Learners across the state, so people have access to the legal resources they need to get back on their feet and move forward with their lives.”
Holly Clendenen, chief student services officer at Southwest Tech stated, “Southwest Tech is grateful to partner with Lawyers for Learners to provide free legal services to our students who may be facing a legal issue that is interfering with their education or future employment goals. Lawyers for Learners can help students who do not know where to go for help with legal issues like child custody and support, driver’s license reinstatement, housing, and employment.”
The legal professionals comprising Lawyers for Learners are from Ascendium Education Group, City of Madison Department of Civil Rights, Community Immigration Law Center, Community Justice Inc., The Family Court Clinic, Habush Habush & Rottier, S.C., Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic, Legal Action of Wisconsin, Neighborhood Law Clinic, Ogden Glazer + Shaefer, Schuster Family Law and Wisconsin Judicare Inc.
For more information on Southwest Tech’s partnership with Lawyers for Learners, visit www.swtc.edu/legal-services.
About Lawyers for Learners
A collaboration between colleges, businesses, law firms and legal aid organization, Lawyers for Learners is a legal aid program that connects students and community members with free legal help so they can overcome legal obstacles and stay on the path to achieving their academic and career goal. To learn more or to get started with an intake form, visit lawyersforlearners.org.
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |