Center for Patient Partnerships
Ag Hall
1450 Linden Drive,
Suite 1 Madison, WI 53706

• Legal Resource Navigator

  • Description: Undergraduate students work with patients to help them connect with needed community resources and follow-up with them regularly to help them stay healthy. Law students receive referrals to help patients with health-harming legal needs. Patients receive preventative legal information and guidance as they navigate legal issues. 
  • Approximate hours of work requested: 2-4 hours per week
  • Location: Agriculture Hall (Suite 1, On Campus)
  • Training: Required to attend selected training sessions necessary for competency, become a UW Health Volunteer and Pro Bono ethics training. 
  • Desired course or clinic experience: Preference will be given to students who have client-services experience. Fluency in Spanish or other languages a significant plus, as well as experience working with people with disabilities. Open to 1Ls, 2Ls, and 3Ls. 
  • To participate: Contact Curran Cauldwood for more information.

• LIFT WI Legal Tune Up – Child Support Clinics

  • Approximate hours of work requested: 2-3 hours per clinic (2-3 clinics per semester)
  • Schedule: Flexible, as needed 
  • Location: Variable - Madison based clinics
  • Commitment: 1 semester minimum Training: no previous training required - training will be done prior to clinics
  • To participate: contact Curran Cauldwood. 

• LIFT WI Legal Tune Up – Module Development

  • Approximate hours of work requested: 2-4 hours per week
  • Schedule: Flexible
  • Location: Remote, CPP Offices (Ag Hall)
  • Commitment: 1 semester minimum
  • Training: no previous training required - students will meet with an advisor to go over expectations and goals
  • To participate: contact Curran Cauldwood 

Community Immigration Law Center
Christ Presbyterian Church
944 E. Gorham St.
Madison, WI 53703
608-640-4447 

CILC provides legal information regarding immigration to individuals and groups who might otherwise not have access to the legal system. CILC does this through legal clinics, know-your-rights presentations, and other community outreach activities. CILC grew out of a series of meetings with people from various legal, social, and faith-based organizations who shared a concern about the lack of affordable legal services for noncitizens in our community.

• CILC Friday Consultation Day: 

  • Description: CILC conducts in person consultations with the immigrant community to provide immigration legal information and advice on their options. Volunteers will be trained to work with participant's to complete CILC's intake tool and collect information about the participant's case. The intake tool is then reviewed by one of our volunteer immigration attorneys or a CILC attorney who provides legal advice to the participant. 
  • Schedule: 2nd and 4th Friday of the month
  • Location: Christ Presbyterian Church (address above)
  • Approximate hours of work requested: 9am-12pm (morning shift - bilingual Spanish-English speakers only); 1pm-5pm (all volunteers welcome whether they speak Spanish or not)
  • Transportation: Accessible by foot or bus
  • Training: Volunteers must watch a 1-hour webinar training how to complete the CILC intake tool.
  • To Participate: Complete this Google Form.

Dane County Bar Association Legal Clinics
Dane County Courthouse (or Virtual) 
215 S. Hamilton Street Madison, WI 53706

The Dane County Bar Association offers several programs which provide community members with legal information, free of charge. The programs are staffed by volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students.

• Family Law Assistance Center
  • Description: The Family Law Assistance Center operates in person on Wednesdays at the Dane County Courthouse. Volunteer law students work with volunteer attorneys to assist unrepresented individuals with family court forms. 
  • Schedule: 11:30am-2pm on Wednesdays, Spanish speaking services offered every first and third Wednesday of the month.
  • Location: Dane County Courthouse (address above)
  • Approximate hours of work requested: No specific hours required; attendance is not mandatory for each Wednesday.
  • Training: Students must shadow with existing volunteers prior to attending on their own. Students must also sign a confidentiality agreement.
  • Desired course or clinic experience: All grade levels (1L-3L) are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary.
  • To participate: Interested students should contact Jennifer Binkley. 

• The Estate Planning Clinic

  • Description: The Estate Planning Clinic operates in person several Saturdays throughout the year. Volunteers assist low-income individuals prepare basic estate planning documents.
  • Schedule: 8:00 am-12pm on several Saturdays throughout the year.
  • Location: South Madison College campuses in Madison
  • Approximate hours of work requested: approximately 10 hours per semester.
  • Training: Students view a 60-minute training video about the program prior to attendance. Students must also sign a confidentiality agreement.
  • Desired course or clinic experience: All grade levels (1L-3L) are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary.
  • To participate: Interested students in the Estate Planning Clinic should contact Jennifer Binkley. 

• The Veteran’s Law Center (VLC) 

  • Description: VLC operates virtually and in person. Volunteers give information on court procedures, refer clients to community resources, provide legal advice and assistance, and help complete forms and provide filing instructions alongside a volunteer attorney. 
  • Location: Virtually  
  • Approximate hours of work requested: Approximately 10-20 hours per semester. 
  • Training: Students complete a 1-hour mandatory training session on clinic procedures, professional responsibility, ethics, and a general overview of VLC.  Students must also sign a confidentiality agreement.
  • Desired course or clinic experience: All grade levels (1L-3L) are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary.
  • To participate: Contact Jennifer Binkley for the training information.

This is a remote pro bono opportunity which involves performing research to assist attorneys in answering citizen questions posted to the Free Legal Answers website, hosted by the American Bar Association.

• Schedule and Approximate hours of work requested: Students sign up for a limited number of weeks to be “on call.” During those “on call” weeks (2 per summer), you may be assigned a question by a volunteer attorney. The volunteer attorney assigns the question between Monday and Wednesday during your “on call” week; your draft answer is due back to the volunteer attorney within 48 hours. This is intentional, to mimic real-world practice where clients expect a timely response. The volunteer attorney reviews your draft, makes any changes necessary, and submits it back to the client through Free Legal Answers. The attorney shares their final response with you and gives feedback on the draft. We are using the phrase “on call” and that you “may” be assigned a question because of the nature of the Free Legal Answers site. There may be weeks where there are no questions available or appropriate for a student to draft. That is why we encourage students to sign up for several weeks, so that there is a greater likelihood that they will receive a question.
• Location: Virtual
• Desired course or clinic experience: All levels (1L-3L) welcome.
• To participate: Sign up for your "on call" weeks. Email Lindsay Slaker for more information.  

Legal Action of Wisconsin
744 Williamson Street, Suite 200
Madison, WI 53703
855-947-2529

Legal Action of Wisconsin (LAW) is the state’s largest non-profit law firm providing free civil legal services to Wisconsin clients at the most vulnerable times in their lives. For more than 50 years, we’ve changed and improved lives by making sure the civil legal system works for everyone.

• Pro Bono Debtor Rights Program

  • Description: UW Law and Legal Action have teamed up to counsel low-income individuals about bankruptcy and other tools to address creditor harassment.  Student volunteers assist volunteer attorneys with telephone counseling sessions and client follow-up.   
  • Approximate hours of work requested: Friday mornings from 10am-12pm
  • Location: Remote. Though students who are present in Madison can also volunteer to work with Legal Action staff to help prepare bankruptcy petitions. 
  • Commitment: Students are asked to commit to at least one 2-hour volunteer session during the semester, but students can also volunteer more frequently.     
  • Training: New volunteers are required to attend a 90-minute training. 
  • To participate: Please email Megan McDermott if you would like more information about the program or would like to attend the next training session.  

• Background Check Clinics

  • Description: Assist Legal Action of Wisconsin at in-person and virtual background check clinics where we go through a client's background check to identity any arrest cycles that can be corrected, expunged, or pardoned. Law students work in teams with pro bono attorneys to go through documents, look things up on WCCA/CCAP, and take notes on advice given. Recorded trainings provided.
  • Urban League Clinics  (In-Person in Madison)
  • Student Legal Aid Clinics  (Virtual) 

Law students pair-up with volunteer lawyers at the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics (MVLC) to provide free brief legal advice on civil legal matters including but not limited to family law; evictions & housing law; debt/collections; small claims; small business; guardianship; probate; and more.

• Approximate hours of work requested: Students must commit to volunteering 2 hours per week (1 shift), and to participating for the full summer. 
• Schedule: Thursdays from May 18 thrrough August 7, with a holiday break June 29 to July 3.
• Training: A required remote training is provided.
• Location: Milwaukee-based, in person. Fill out this form to be contacted.
• Desired course or clinic experience: All grade levels (1L-3L) are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary.
• To participate: Submit this form to indicated your interest and a member of the clinic staff will be in touch with you.

Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic (UAC)
Madison Labor Temple
1602 South Park Street
Madison, WI 53715

The Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic is a pro bono clinic providing resources to those who have been denied unemployment insurance by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Students, including first semester 1Ls, can represent UI claimants in their appeal hearings in front of Administrative Law Judges. Students gain substantive and procedural knowledge of Wisconsin unemployment law, as well as hone skills of direct and cross examination, submitting evidence, and client management.

If you're interested in public interest, trial advocacy, or labor and employment law, this is a great opportunity to gain experience and showcase a proficiency in those fields. Students work under local volunteer attorneys, creating relationships and mentorship connections. Participants in this pro bono clinic make a material difference in claimants' lives.  

• Dates:  every other Monday from 7:00-9:00pm in June and July
• Location: Madison Labor Temple (1602 S. Park St. Madison, WI 53715) or remote. The Labor Temple is directly on several bus routes and has lots of parking.
• Training: There will be trainings held once the fall semester begins. If you're interested in volunteering but have not yet been trained, contact the Student Manager to discuss options.
• Desired course or clinic experience: None—all years are encouraged to participate.​
• How to Participate: If you're interested and would like more information or have any questions contact Trinity Giese or uwunemploymentappealsclinic@gmail.com.