Media ContactLisa Ramirez, Communications Manager, lramirez@mylegalaid.org
In this staff profile piece, Attorney Steve Schmidt reflects on five memorable cases. Each focused on disability rights for clients of Legal Aid’s Minnesota Disability Law Center. All had far-reaching effects in achieving justice for countless others in areas of legislation, prisoner rights, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and increasing access to time with personal care assistants.
The Minnesota Department of Education agreed, our client, a senior in high school, should not have been expelled. But when MDE ordered the school to reinstate him, they refused. Legal Aid then argued in front of the Court of Appeals that the school’s case should be dismissed. Ultimately, it was. By then, however, our client’s chance to graduate with his class had come and gone. Today, two grad seasons later, our client William and his family share how far he’s come.
Centering our mental health is essential to overall well-being. You may know this, but it’s not always easy to take the time or find the time to do it? To inspire, we share the mindful practices of Legal Aid staff.
As Fair Housing Month comes to a close, we celebrate our client’s win in mediation after her landlord refused to renew her lease when her Emotional Support Animal entered the picture.
Tax Attorney Hannah Stephan says her work is not tedious, dry or boring. Rather, she sees tax issues as “puzzles to be solved and so very interesting!”
Legal Aid Attorney Jessica Webster describes the 2023 child tax credit as a “powerful anti-poverty tool” and calls the 2024 proposal, “smart and equitable tax policy.”
In a Leap Day race to beat the clock, Legal Aid’s Project Care navigators tackled the cases of clients whose pending coverage was due to expire at midnight, March 1. Thanks to their tenacity, by the day’s end, eight households (24 people, including 10 children) had secured health coverage for the next 12 months.
When Asha* came to us for help, she was being sued for $40,000. Attorney Beth Goodell, who leads Legal Aid’s consumer unit, describes how her young client was suddenly saddled with enormous debt because of an abusive ex-boyfriend.
Pheng Thao’s client, a high schooler without parents, had a health crisis that required a legal solution.
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