In this continuing series, with contributions by Marquette law students who were Public Interest Law Society summer fellows during 2024 (earlier entries being here, here, and here), we see some of the diverse ways Marquette law students are engaging with public interest legal work and how it shapes their futures as attorneys. Today, Sydney Gang reflects on her summer internship with Legal Action of Wisconsin’s Eviction Defense Project, where she noticed the relationship between empathetically engaging with clients and determining potential defenses to eviction.

By Sydney Gang, 2L

“Perspective can change everything” is what I always tell my friends. I believe there are endless perspectives that can change the way we view things. Sometimes when we think we have seen something from all angles, a new one appears and can completely change our opinion or viewpoint. The PILS Summer Fellowship gave me an entirely different perspective of the Milwaukee community, which I have never seen before and which I will carry into my legal career.

Before my internship, the thought of being evicted never even crossed my mind.

In my Wisconsin hometown community, evictions were unheard of—at least by me. My parents worked incredibly hard to give my brother and me everything, even though they came from poverty themselves. Since I have never experienced poverty and always had secure housing, I lacked the perspective of those who were facing an eviction or who are at risk of being evicted.

My PILS fellowship, working at Legal Action of Wisconsin, woke me up. On the first day of my summer internship in Legal Action’s housing unit, I was thrown into small claims court. If I had two words to describe small claims court, it would be organized chaos. Every bench was filled, lawyers dashed in and out of the courtroom to talk with clients, commissioners called names, and an overall gloomy mood sat in the room.

Among the organized chaos, though, was a courtroom full of stories—each one with a unique perspective. Eventually, when I was able to represent clients myself under the student practice rule, I would listen to their stories to better leverage their position in court. Although I had never been in their shoes, they explained what it was like to live in fear of losing their home and possessions. Many cried, got angry, or were quiet. Even if I was incapable of truly understanding their position, listening to them helped me appreciate at least to some degree what they were going through.

After hearing their story and collecting the facts of their cases, their stories made issue-spotting much easier than when I struggled in school with it. I was able to come up with possible defenses and give them a list of options that I could present to opposing counsel. When I would offer the clients different possibilities, their entire demeanor would change. Suddenly their eviction became much more manageable to overcome. The relief on their faces was truly rewarding. Even in cases involving a simple seal, clients sometimes broke down and cried, thanking me because they could finally find safe, secure, and affordable housing without an eviction on their record.

Volunteering had always been a back burner thought because I didn’t feel myself relating to the clients and was too focused on my own problems in life. I saw volunteering as more of a chore than having a greater purpose. However, after taking cases from start to finish (eviction cases don’t take long), where you see the impact on someone’s life, it was apparent how meaningful volunteering can be, how great the need is, and how few pro bono resources exist. Suddenly, making it to dinner on time was on the back burner.

You’re never done pursuing other perspectives, is what I will keep telling my friends. When you think you’ve seen it all, you haven’t. Although you will never truly be in the shoes of someone else, you can try your best. By showing empathy and understanding to others, you not only make them feel heard, but you also can leverage their position better in a legal setting and achieve client goals more effectively. The PILS Fellowship experience with Legal Action of Wisconsin was an invaluable experience that I will carry with me into my legal career and beyond when I need to see things from a new perspective.

This continuing series of reflections relates the work of some of our recent Public Interest Law Society summer fellows. From Andrea Bishop’s work in housing matters to Mia Stevenson’s appreciation of outreach, we now turn to Alana Borman. Alana spent her summer in the housing unit at Legal Action of Wisconsin. The work was personal and more generally is a reminder of the connection between housing and health.

By Alana Borman, 2L

My interest in housing started long before I ever started working at Legal Action. It began when I was a child through my mom and her best friend, whom I’ll call Donna. They had been nurses working together for years and had done everything together. As a child, it was routine for me to go to Donna’s house and play in her pool.

Everything was routine until it wasn’t. I noticed Donna was not coming over as much. Instead of working at the hospital, she was being seen at the hospital. She had stage four breast cancer. It was life altering for her. She made the difficult decision to pay for more important things, such as chemotherapy, instead of rent. There were no options for her. She was embarrassed to ask for help, even after everything her and my mom had been through.

We eventually learned she had lost her housing and was staying at a homeless shelter. My mom tried every way possible to get her to come stay at our house, but she remained too ashamed of what had happened. Months would pass without hearing from Donna. A once-vibrant person in my life had drifted away. Donna eventually passed away at that homeless shelter.

There had been no resources for her, no one to turn toward to help her remain in her home. I have no doubt that staying in a shelter did not aid in her situation. It was my goal this summer to understand more about why this happens—why there is a lack of resources in situations like Donna’s where people are forced to decide between housing and survival.

This summer I was exposed to many “Donnas”—people who were just one payment away from losing housing. This included many who were sick and paying for treatments as opposed to rent. Many did not have any place to turn. For some, Legal Action was the only resource .

It was through this experience I realized the many intricacies that go into housing. For some, the eviction comes out of nowhere. They are served a 28-day notice with no warning. Others are merely given a 5-day notice to pay or get out before a proceeding begins. The difficulties that lie in having an eviction action on one’s name are heavy. Even when an eviction action is dismissed and there is no judgment, many cannot find housing because of the eviction even being associated with their name. Of course, in some instances in Milwaukee, a judge will grant name redactions to parties.

Still, the eviction often brings shame just as it did with Donna. There is no real place in the court file to add one’s own story of how it came to be. If people could look closer, many would come to find out that people did not suddenly stop paying out of spite. Rather, there are various reasons for inability to pay. Some individuals have delays in their benefits or their benefits from the state may never come. Others were one paycheck away from losing it all and the ball finally dropped. Many of the people I met were mothers, veterans, young adults who had just left their parents’ homes, and those who were very ill.

There are so many housing needs that are not being addressed, and I encourage all law students at some point to get involved. Much of the information I learned this summer still benefits me as I inform friends and family who rent about the current laws. We all likely know someone who rents or will be a renter.

I am still struck with Donna’s story and how much adequate housing can impact one’s life. Housing for her could have meant a place to come home to rest after a long day of chemotherapy. For others it means the ability to hold a job or provide a place for their children to live. A home means so many things to so many people, it should not be diminished to nothing.  Losing a loved one to homelessness has made me deeply aware of how fortunate I am to have a place to call home, something I can no longer take for granted.

Evictions are just one area of the law contributing to homelessness. Legal Action is just one agency working toward reform and keeping people in their housing. The judgment cast toward the homeless or evicted may often be unfounded. Again, an eviction is just one view of a situation that has many layers. Many of the cases in which I was involved this past summer were dismissed because of condition issues, lack of proper accounting or service, and various other issues that normally a client would not know to argue.

This summer came with many hardships but also with self-reflection. I have now had the ability to add to my version of Donna’s story to make the bad ending good. She truly guided me through everything this summer. I hope to take with me the stories of people I worked with this summer and draw on them for inspiration during my journey in law school and beyond.

This is the second part of a series celebrating our recent PILS summer fellows through some representative examples—and, hopefully, pointing toward future public interest minded work. In the first entry, Andrea Bishop reflected on their work with the Eviction Defense Project. Today, Mia Stevenson, who spent the past summer at Coast to Coast Legal Aid Society of South Florida, reflects on the importance of legal aid organizations reaching out to the community to describe and explain the work they are doing.

By Mia Stevenson, 2L

As a Marquette Law School Public Interest Law Society Fellow, I spent my summer at Coast to Coast Legal Aid Society of South Florida, where I observed the important role that presence in the community plays for legal aid providers.

Attorneys, paralegals, and interns attend outreach events, including community presentations, clinics, and events such as backpack giveaways and resource fairs. I had the privilege of attending Fort Lauderdale FLITE Center’s resource fair, where we provided those in attendance with information about the presence of Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida and the free civil legal services itprovides. Although some of these outreach events are directly tied to providing legal information, many also emphasize giving back to the community, which is just as important and is among the values of legal aid providers.

The lack of access by everyday Americans to legal assistance and the justice system is why it is important for legal aid services to be visible in the community. Legal aid providers provide access to a wide variety of populations, including victims of domestic violence, rural populations, veterans, and people who have been wrongfully evicted. If, however, the community is unaware of the presence of the legal aid providers, then it is more difficult for them to seek out and receive the help that they need.

Additionally, in underserved communities there is a large group of people who are unaware that some of the issues that they face could be resolved or mitigated with the help of an attorney. Community outreach events allow legal aid providers to interact with community members and explain the services that can be provided and how they can help. Community outreach as a form of service – though it can easily be underappreciated – is incredibly valuable to the people we serve.