LASNEM News & Updates
November 2020
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Meet Lilo Schluender
Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) Director
Give to the Max Day
November 19, 2020
In the News
LASNEM Legal Advice Hotline
Pro Bono Week
LASNEM celebrates Pro Bono volunteers
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LASNEM welcomes new Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) Director |
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Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota is proud to announce and welcome Lilo Schluender as our Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) Director.
Lilo joins the LASNEM team from her current role as Supervising Attorney at Central Minnesota Legal Services (CMLS) office in Minneapolis. She grew up in Duluth and has had a strong desire to return and serve the northeastern region of Minnesota communities.
In addition to supervising the attorneys in the CMLS Minneapolis office, Lilo provided direct representation to clients, supervised the family, veterans and expungement legal clinics and was the supervisor and founding attorney of the legal partnership with the Hennepin County Attorney's Office's Domestic Abuse Center - a nationally recognized partnership serving victims of abuse.
Lilo brings significant experience in both public and private sector legal work and partnerships. She graduated from William Mitchell College of Law in 2011. Following graduation, she clerked for the Honorable William H. Koch and Honorable Timothy Mulrooney of the Minnesota Fourth Judicial District. She was an Adjunct Professor at William Mitchell College of Law for over five years and also worked as an Associate Attorney at Walling, Berg & Debele, P.A. in Minneapolis prior to joining Central Minnesota Legal Services.
Lilo Schluender will begin as the Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) Director on November 30, 2020. Please join us as we welcome Lilo to LASNEM and the community.
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Please support LASNEM in the 12th annual Give to the Max Day on Thursday, November 19! Give to the Max is an online giving event that raises millions each year across Minnesota and beyond. This year, GiveMN is encouraging donors to #GiveWhereYouLiveMN, an effort to help communities in every corner of Minnesota as the challenges of this year continue.
The core mission of legal aid is to close the access to justice gap for all individuals. The COVID-19 public health emergency has put an unprecedented hardship on legal aid’s ability to do so. During this pandemic we have seen a significant increase of requests for assistance regarding evictions, public assistance, unemployment appeals, domestic violence and more. The justice system has become even more inaccessible to those in poverty.
Give to the Max Day provides a great opportunity for you to support that mission and make a donation so that we can continue our commitment of providing equal justice in northeastern Minnesota. Please consider making a donation to LASNEM on this annual day of giving.
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Thank you to the following law firms who provided Give to the Max Day
matching donations to Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota:
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LASNEM Legal Advice Hotline |
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The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated almost every difficulty facing low-income individuals and families. Thousands of Minnesotans are newly jobless and poor. They are facing eviction, hungry creditors, and soon-to-be-denied benefits. The transition to a virtual world and the digital divide create even more barriers and obstacles for individuals to address these crises on their own.
As a result, LASNEM saw an immediate increase in the need for services. At the beginning of the pandemic, the stimulus brought on a host of bad debt collection crises, and the moratorium on eviction has had numerous landlords resorting to illegal practices to try to oust their tenants. The increase in calls regarding domestic violence in the home, requests for orders for protection, seniors being exploited financially, bank accounts being garnished, and unemployment claims being denied continues.
In order to quickly respond to the increased need for legal services as a result of pandemic-caused crises, LASNEM implemented a Legal Advice Hotline at the onset of the pandemic. LASNEM's hotline (1-800-933-1112) screens callers for eligibility and then an attorney calls the eligible clients back that day. The hotline is staffed by attorneys in three-hour shifts from 8:30 a.m. to noon, and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.
LASNEM's hotline was featured in an article by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) as a case study for how hotlines can be an effective way to serve clients remotely during the pandemic. To read more about the hotline's impact, see the articles covering the hotline below. LASNEM plans to continue providing the hotline service into 2021.
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How Hotlines Help Reach Clients during COVID-19
In April, Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota (LASNEM) launched their first legal advice hotline (1-800-933-1112) to cover a range of COVID-19-related issues -- including family law, domestic violence, housing, elder law, and government...
Read more
www.lsc.gov
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LASNEM's Legal Advice Hotline Helps Clients Amid...
This past spring, amid the crush of COVID-19 hardships for legal aid clients, Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota (LASNEM) launched a legal advice hotline as a way for people to get their legal questions answered quickly. LASNEM's hotline ...
Read more
www.mnlegalservices.org
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LASNEM is fortunate to work with outstanding lawyers who are willing to give of their time and expertise to help those in need through our PAI (Private Attorney Involvement) program. Their choice to dedicate their time and expertise to providing pro bono legal services helps close the access to justice gap for those who cannot afford legal services. We celebrate their work, and the work of volunteer attorneys across the nation, during the American Bar Association's annual Pro Bono Week (October 25-31, 2020).
For this year's Pro Bono Week, LASNEM highlighted some of our top PAI volunteers on social media. Over the past year, these volunteers provided pro bono service to multiple individuals, making a significant impact in each one of their lives. These lawyers embody the belief that justice is indeed a right, and not a privilege. Thank you to these volunteers, and to all volunteer attorneys, for your choice to be a part of ensuring equal access to justice for all.
If you are interested in becoming an attorney volunteer with our Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) program, please contact us!
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Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota | lasnem.org | 800-933-1112
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Serving Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Crow Wing, Itasca, Kanabec,
Koochiching, Lake, Pine and St. Louis counties.
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