Wisconsin Equal Justice Fund, Inc.

Wisconsin Equal Justice Fund, Inc. (WEJF) promotes the availability and public awareness of the need for free legal services to low-income individuals and families in Wisconsin, secures resources for providers of such services, and distributes resources to tax-exempt nonprofit organizations that provide such services. We envision a future where everyone who needs a lawyer can have one, regardless of their ability to pay. Founded in 1997 in response to a drastic cut in federal funding through the Legal Services Corporation, WEJF has raised $7.5 million. The organization employs one full-time staff person and has 32 volunteer attorney board members from around the state.

WEJF does not provide services; we are a fundraising organization only. The three organizations for which we raise funds – Legal Action of Wisconsin, Judicare Legal Aid, and Disability Rights Wisconsin – provide pro bono civil legal aid services to low-income individuals and families in a wide range of practice areas, including domestic violence, housing, consumer, employment, tribal, veterans, and disability law. Despite receiving federal, state, and private funding, our legal aid providers must turn away about as many people as they serve each year due to a lack of resources. If we can increase their funding, they can serve more people in need. Individuals and families seek civil legal aid services at the most vulnerable times in their lives: when seeking reprieve from abuse, attempting to avoid homelessness, facing barriers to gainful employment, and when confronting catastrophic financial events due to predatory consumer practices and scams, discrimination, and disability. Often, these individuals are experiencing multiple legal problems at one time. COVID-19, new and complex laws affecting low-income individuals, and the rising price of groceries, gas, and other consumer goods have made the need for WEJF support even more urgent. Our beneficiaries' clients have gross incomes at or below 125% of the federal poverty level.