Mitch

Director, EJI; Clinical Professor; Neighborhood Law Clinic Director

Education

J.D., University of Wisconsin Law School

Biography

Mitch is a Clinical Law Professor and the Director of the Economic Justice Institute (EJI), which is the home for the Law School's Consumer Law Clinic, Eviction Defense Clinic, Family Court Clinic, Family Legal Aid and Support Clinic, Immigrant Justice Clinic, Neighborhood Law Clinic and the Restraining Order and Survivor Advocacy Clinic, together with the Lawyering Skills Program and the Center for Dreamers. Professor Mitch teaches and supervises students in the Neighborhood Law Clinic (NLC). The Neighborhood Law Clinic has a twofold mission of education and service. The educational mission is to provide a signifcant learning experience where, by taking responsibility for clients' cases, students develop lawyering skills and learn to think critically about both the role and limits of the law as a force for justice and social change. The service mission is to provide quality legal representation and advocacy services to people in the community.

Mitch has long been determined to increase access to justice. He co-founded Community Justice Inc., a nonprofit tax-exempt sliding-scale law firm that provides direct legal services to low-income individuals. His practice has focused primarily in the areas of housing law, employment law, government benefits, and Guardian ad litem work. As a clinical faculty member his pedagogical focus centers on creating a challenging experiential learning environment for students who represent clients in all phases of litigation, and researching improved methods to deliver legal services to those in need.

Mitch is the Law School's representative on the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission and former Chair of the Wisconsin State Bar's Public Interest Law Section.

Scholarship & Publications

Temporarily unavailable. Please check back.

Activities

  • Mitch was elected to the State Bar of Wisconsin's policy-making body, the Board of Governors. He will represent District 9 for a two-year term.

  • Mitch has been reappointed for a three-year term as UW Law School's representative on the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission. The commission was created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court at the request of the State Bar of Wisconsin to aid the courts in improving the administration of justice.

  • Mitch's article, "Tipping the Scales of Justice: The Role of the Nonprofit Sliding Scale Law Firm in the Delivery of Legal Services," was published in the NYU Journal of Legislation & Public Policy in September.

  • Sarah Davis, Mitch and Tricia Bushnell (with Sean O'Brien, University of Missouri School of Law) co-presented "Teaching Legal Resilience: Perseverance in the Face of Loss" at the 2012 Midwest Clinical Conference in St. Louis.

News & Media

Teaching Areas

  • Client Interviewing & Counseling
  • Community Lawyering
  • Employment Law
  • Housing & Urban Community Development Law
  • Pre-Trial Advocacy

Recently Taught Courses

Lock iconProfile Admin