Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, Inc. - Wistaf

04/09/2026

Civil Legal Aid: Helping Wisconsin families secure financial stability.

Read how a civil legal aid provider helped a Wisconsin parent reopen his path to financial stability for his family.

https://www.civil-laaw.org/stories/charlies-story

03/16/2026

Law firms, place your IOLTA account at Northern Trust and your IOLTA account will WORK HARDER to help low-income Wisconsinites access justice! Welcome, Northern Trust Careers - WisTAF's newest IOLTA Prime Partner!

Northern Trust's Milwaukee office phone number and hours: https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/about-us/locations/us/wi/milwaukee-526-east-wisconsin-avenue

More about our IOLTA Prime Partner program: https://www.wistaf.org/wistafhelp/IOLTA_3/About_IOLTA_and_PP_164/What_are_IOLTA_Prime_Partners_20

02/10/2026

Come work with us! We're hiring our first Program Coordinator, a half-time, professional role.

Help make equal access to justice a reality for all.

Details & how to apply: https://www.wistaf.org/wistaflegal/About_1/Careers_12

01/14/2026

Yes! The study we commissioned in Wisconsin found a similar (slightly larger) return specifically for our state. https://www.wistaf.org/wistafhelp/About_1/Impact_2/Economic_impact_17

Civil legal services are a smart investment. Studies show that every $1 invested generates $7 in savings — a powerful return for communities and taxpayers alike.

11/04/2025

WisTAF was honored to attend the release of the LSC's Rural Justice Task Force report in Madison. (Yes, a national event held in Wisconsin!) Present was an inspiring crowd of state and national leaders and dedicated advocates, all gathered in the name of creatively solving the access-to-justice crisis in rural areas, and by extension everywhere.

10/28/2025

This woman found safety for herself and her daughter — thanks to help made possible by WisTAF’s grant to Community Justice, Inc.

Civil legal aid changes lives. 💙 ⚖

Learn more: https://wistaf.org/learn

10/09/2025

This is one of those all-too-common situations where a person needs professional legal advice to achieve something that is clearly in *everyone's* interest.

10/08/2025

08/29/2025

Legal Action of Wisconsin helps clients find and keep safe and affordable housing. Whether through brief legal advice, assistance with documents, or in-court representation, we help tenants and homeowners assert and protect their rights while holding property owners, housing authorities and courts a...

08/28/2025

Not every bank invests in justice. This one does! Meet the Bank of New Glarus — Wisconsin's newest IOLTA Prime Partner. When you choose them, you’re choosing a financial institution that invests in:
● Fairness
● Justice
● Stronger communities
-- through support for civil legal aid.

Want your money to do more good? Bank with a Prime Partner like Bank of New Glarus.
The Bank of New Glarus

08/19/2025

Yes, WPR Reporter Trevor Hook is right about this: "The backlog of cases doesn’t just exist for criminal cases. Civil court cases — which include evictions, foreclosures, domestic abuse restraining orders, child custody — also have deep backlogs."

One way to reduce backlogs that also promotes fairness in our legal system is "civil legal aid" -- helping people with limited incomes to access professional assistance in navigating the legal system. Proceedings are just more efficient when laypeople aren't trying to navigate all the technicalities themselves. Judges can't help much, because they are required to be fair to both sides.

Civil legal aid is why WisTAF exists. We fund grants that help people throughout Wisconsin to access fair legal outcomes through our justice system.

For years, Wisconsin has faced a backlog of cases in areas around the state stemming from a shortage of lawyers. After a few years of pay raises and added positions, is the state in a better place now?