Page 10 - Minnesota Vol 8 No 2

A Voice at the
Legislature
BY LEYKN SCHMATZ
Law is one thing in theory, and another in practice. In every practice area, Legal Aid attorneys encounter statutes where gaps or ambiguity leave broad room for interpretation and create unintended impediments to justice. Legal Aid’s Legal Services Advocacy Project (LSAP) is one of the state’s major conduits between theory and practice, seeking to make the written law work fairly for everyone.
LSAP Sta Attorneys Ron Elwood, Jessica Webster, and Maren Hul- den meet with a substantial number of the 201 Minnesota legislators each session. ey participate in multiple content area committees on a multitude of issues and work closely with agency heads. ey are also in frequent communication with agency and legislative sta , evaluating the e ects of statutes and administrative actions on Legal Aid’s clients. No one person can be an expert on everything, but the LSAP attorneys are able to tap the expertise of legal services attorneys throughout the state.
“When a new idea that a ects our clients is introduced, we call on our Legal Aid colleagues and ask what they think the bill would do,” says Elwood. “ e attorneys who work in that area can see what im- pact it would have – positive or negative – and thus provide clarity on what position to take in our conversations with lawmakers.”
Unlike many lobbyists and advocates, LSAP attorneys have no di- rect interest – nancial or otherwise – in legislative outcomes at the Capitol. LSAP’s mission is legislative advocacy to educate the legisla- ture about the needs of Legal Aid’s clients.
In 2011, Webster heard about low-income children who had their lunches publicly dumped in the garbage if parents hadn’t paid the bill. She called on the pro bono programs at several large local law rms to research school lunch practices at school districts throughout the state. at research helped immensely in getting legislation passed that protects school children from being stigmatized or punished for unpaid lunch bills. Now, schools that receive state lunch subsidies may not refuse lunch for a low-income child who lacks funds.
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA· VOL. 8 NO. 2 10