Jean Lastine, Central Minnesota Legal Services executive director, left, confers with Emily Ginsburg ’18 J.D. and Jessica Melheim ’15 J.D.
“For example, after one of the area’s largest employers laid off nearly 1,000 workers, we had an open house to address their health care and legal issues moving forward. On an individual level, we have represented many individuals and helped them at critical times, whether it’s fighting back against an unjust eviction or advocating for them in family court against an abusive former partner.” He admitted that it can be difficult to hear clients’ stories, but it provides motivation for him to advocate for them and to “balance the scales for someone who would usually have a terrible time navigating the legal system on their own.” The motivation to help those in the justice gap is shared by the partners involved in the Archbishop Ireland Justice Fellowships – the recipient, the employer and the donors. “Our goal is to build the program to provide all the legal aid groups in Minnesota who want and need additional professional help with talented and committed grads from St. Thomas Law, via recurring and revolving one-year placements,” Helms said. “We hope to build an enduring program of recruiting, training, placing and overseeing young lawyers in all these positions.” He gave a nod to Brabbit, whose idea to create the fellowships and “endless energy and vision” keep the program thriving.
and health insurance. The fellowship program has enabled CMLS to leverage our resources and add a position to our office to represent clients when we would otherwise not be able to hire additional staff.”
MID-MINNESOTA LEGAL AID FELLOW HIRED FULL TIME
Like Melheim, Ben Cichanski ’13, ’16 J.D. also transitioned to long-term employment after his fellowship ended with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA) in St. Cloud. “I feel that we do meaningful work,” he said. “I’ve had the opportunity to get a great deal of courtroom experience
working on family law and housing cases. I also represent our clients as part of a new partnership started in 2019 with the pediatric clinic at CentraCare Health with the goal of tackling the legal issues that are adversely impacting health.” MMLA’s work addresses access to justice issues such as domestic violence, immigration, public benefits and housing rights. “I’ve worked on unique and challenging cases in counties across our service area in central Minnesota, and our office has made an impact at both a community and individual level,” Cichanski said.
Spring 2020 Page 23
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