History

100+ years of protecting rights and improving lives

For more than 100 years, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid has provided access to the legal system for Minnesota’s most vulnerable citizens. With the support of thousands of Minnesotans like you, we’ve stood with them to defend their basic rights for safety, shelter, food, health care and education. Together, we are changing lives.

Legal Aid through the Years

Leadership History

Legal Aid Icon: Laurie Davison

Laurie Davison joined Legal Aid in 1977 as a staff attorney before moving to managing attorney and litigation director. On behalf of aging and disabled veterans, she won changes to federal veterans’ policy; she protected Native American children in adoption proceedings; and she used her compassion and legal prowess to stop discrimination in nursing homes. Davison’s advocacy also included arguing Gardebring v. Jenkins before the U.S. Supreme Court. When she died in January 1997 at age 47, she was honored through the Laurie N. Davison Fund, which continues as Legal Aid’s primary endowment fund.