Congratulations to Our 2023 MAP Program Award Recipients! | Earlier this month, MAP was able to gather all of our staff together in Lansing for a program-wide meeting. The meeting had almost 180 attendees from across the program and was our first in-person program meeting since the pandemic! Supreme Court Justice Megan Cavanagh opened the day with a discussion regarding the findings of the Access to Justice Wellness Initiative Report. We also honored this year's winners of our MAP program awards at the event, marking the first presentation of the awards since 2019. The following staff were recognized for demonstrating an exemplary commitment to clients during the past year. | |
Outstanding Case Advocacy Award
This award was presented to Jill Bauer, LSSCM Staff Attorney, and Tracy Jensen, LSSCM Staff Attorney, for their outstanding advocacy working with a family in an eviction and family law case. They secured stable housing and custody for their client, who was a survivor of domestic violence.
Ahnuh Hayes of MEJI also received this award for her work as the local long term care ombudsman in Region 2 for 10 years. In one case this year, Ahnunh worked for months to facilitate the transition of her client from a nursing home to the home of their devoted caregiver.
Finally, this award was presented to Jaimie Lerner, MIRC Staff Attorney, for her impressive work successfully arguing a case before the Board of Immigration Appeals which only hears 1-2 oral arguments per year. Jaimie's client won his case, resulting in a positive legal precedent in Michigan.
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Effective Community Project Award
The Michigan Legal Help team received this award for their collaborative work involved in improving the MichiganLegalHelp.org website. This project expanded the impact of the MLH website by significantly improving visitors’ experience and empowering them to move forward with more confidence.
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Eva Alvarez Award
Molli Espinosa-Thompson, MIRC Paralegal, received this award for showing an exceptional commitment to the program and our clients in her work fielding thousands of intake calls a year. Molli brings compassion, patience, curiosity, and overall, a full heart to every phone call. She is on the front line and develops relationships and rapport quickly so that clients and callers feel comforted and able to share critical details.
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MLH Opens its 50th Self Help Center! | |
Michigan Legal Help (MLH), the primary legal resource for self-represented litigants in Michigan, is excited to announce that, with the launch of its new Van Buren County Legal Self-Help Center Network, there are now more than 50 legal self-help centers across Michigan.
The Network is the first of its kind - a free public resource hosted at all 11 public libraries in Van Buren County, where residents can visit their local self-help center to access free legal help via the MLH website. Visitors will receive guidance from library staff or “navigators” who are trained to help them access information about handling some legal matters without a lawyer.
MLH launched its first self-help centers in August 2012. Since then, MLH has added new topics and features to the website, updated existing content, and opened additional self-help centers each year. With more than 50 centers located throughout Michigan, most self-represented litigants are able to access a center in-person to receive the legal information they need.
With 1.7 million people eligible for legal aid in Michigan, there is an immense need for free legal help. Unfortunately, Michiganders do not receive assistance for 93% of the civil legal issues they face as every legal aid program experiences more requests for help than they can serve. This may mean for example, a family at risk of losing their home, or a survivor seeking a divorce to escape an abuser, are left to represent themselves in civil court. For those who cannot find assistance elsewhere and cannot afford an attorney, MLH’s self help centers and toolkits are a lifeline for self-represented litigants
Since its beginnings, MLH has proved to be an invaluable tool to the public, with the site garnering 1.2 million visitors last year alone. Through MLH’s Do-It-Yourself tools and assistance from navigators at self-help centers, 120,000 legal forms were completed by individuals in 2022.
MLH works tirelessly with judges, courts, lawyers, bar associations, nonprofit legal aid agencies, legal self help centers, libraries, and many others to educate the public about their rights and responsibilities under the law and promote coordinated and quality assistance for persons representing themselves in civil legal matters in Michigan. If you decide that you need a lawyer or help from a community services organization, MLH’s Guide to Legal Help can direct you to resources in your area.
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New Article Co-authored by Ilina Krishen, FLS Staff Attorney
The article, entitled, "Sovereignty, Race, and Freedom in Constitutions, Citations and Corpuses: Citing Slavery Project” details the past and continued influence of the law of American slavery. It highlights the Citing Slavery Project's work compiling a database to allow users to analyze the continued impact of these cases on law today.
Read more
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Angela Tripp, MSAS Co-Director and MLH Managing Attorney on Sterling Heights Public Television
MSAS Co-Director, MLH Managing Attorney, and Justice for All Commission (JFAC) Vice-Chair Angela Tripp was featured on 'Legally Speaking' along with Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian Zahra, the JFAC Chair, to discuss the commission's strategic plan to ensure 100% access to justice for all Michigan residents.
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Interested in Legal Aid Work?
Here are some ways you can make a difference!
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Join Our Team
We are seeking new team members who share our passion for providing access to justice to those who need it most. Visit our employment page for full postings.
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Volunteer
MAP welcomes volunteer attorneys in each of our counties and programs. To volunteer, please complete our Pro Bono Attorney Registration Form.
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Give
Through your contributions, we can provide safety and security to thousands of Michigan families. Visit the link below to make a non-attorney donation, or click here to make an attorney donation.
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Please help us spread the word about these upcoming community events and resources! | |
2024 Washtenaw Family Law Assistance Clinics | |
The clinic will continue at the 22nd Circuit on the last Wednesday of every month from 12-3 PM, beginning January 31st.
Join us for free legal advice for low income unrepresented individuals on issues such as divorce, child custody, personal protection orders (PPO), and more.
Clinic is first come first serve until full.
Find more information here
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Michigan works to continue residents' lifesaving health coverage after post-pandemic Medicaid cuts
"We wanted to make sure that people who were getting life-sustaining treatment — were able to continue receiving that treatment, even if they would otherwise be ineligible for Medicaid," Alison Hirschel, MEJI Managing Attorney tells Rapid Growth Media. "We asked the question, 'What happens if someone really should be terminated because they're no longer eligible, but they're getting dialysis, or they're getting chemotherapy, or they're getting some other life-sustaining treatment?"
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Shellie Reid, LSNTAP Manager featured on Talk Justice, an LSC Podcast
In this episode, experts discuss building tools, running experiments and sharing information to help legal professionals better understand uses for generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal field.
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Dozens of Assisted-living Residents Died after Wandering Away Unnoticed
“Most people just assume those places are licensed and have no idea they may not be,” said Alison E. Hirschel, director and managing attorney of the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative.
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If your organization has relevant happenings you would like us to promote in next month's newsletter, send details to: communications@lsscm.org
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