Agency Details:

Legal Assistance of Olmsted County

Legal Assistance of Olmsted County (LAOC) is a non-profit organization designed to provide legal services to low-income residents of Olmsted County.

Description:
SERVICES:

• Primary Program: Staff attorneys represent clients in family law matters, marriage dissolution, post-dissolution, legal separation, custody, visitation, child support, adoption, domestic abuse, custodial will, paternity and housing issues.
  
  
• Landlord/Tenant Clinic: LAOC offers a first come first serve advice clinic for qualified clients every Friday between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. LAOC attorneys may represent clients in District Court with unlawful detainer actions, as needed.
  
  
• Landlord/Tenant Hotline: The Olmsted County Landlord/Tenant Hotline is a free service coordinated by LAOC to answer questions regarding rental housing law in Minnesota. Anyone in the community with a question about their rights or responsibilities as a tenant or a landlord may call the Hotline and leave a voicemail message at (507) 529-4111. Please leave a detailed message describing the situation and include a telephone number where you may be reached. A trained advocate will then return the call to discuss the situation and provide the available information. Advocates strive to return calls within 24 hours, Monday through Friday.
  
  
• Volunteer Attorney Program: The Volunteer Attorney Program (VAP) is coordinated by LAOC. Approximately 75 Rochester-area attorneys participate in this program and accept civil cases on a pro bono basis. Clients are referred to the VAP when LAOC has a conflict of interest, or when the case is a type not handled by LAOC directly. There is a one-time $50.00 administrative fee for the VAP. The VAP uses the same eligibility guidelines as the Primary Program. Types of cases handled by the volunteer attorneys include: Family law, Tenant's rights, Unemployment, Employment, Discrimination, Debtor/creditor issues, Consumer issues, as well as other non-fee producing civil case types.



History:
Legal Assistance of Olmsted County was founded in 1972 "for the purpose of providing legal services to persons who are unable to afford private legal counsel. To that end the corporation shall be authorized to establish and maintain an office or offices, to employ or secure the services of lawyers and other staff personnel, and to contract with the governmental units and private agencies and foundations for the delivery of legal services to indigent persons with the Third Bar Association District of Minnesota.

The organization was specifically prohibited from handling criminal or fee-producing cases or from representing non-residents without substantial ties to Olmsted County.

LAOC's founders were: Lawrence T. Collins, John S. Gowan, A.M. Keith, Ronald L. Seeger, Benjamin R. Hippe, Donald C. Steiner, and Robert Patterson.

It appears two basic motives existed for creating LAOC: 1) to ease the Olmsted County bar's load in handling pro bono cases and 2) to assure the poor of Olmsted County would have their legal needs met.

A variety of poverty law issues, such as government benefits, landlord-tenant issues, consumer debt issues, as well as family law matters were handled by LAOC staff attorneys until 1989. At this time, LAOC decided to limit its practice to family law matters and an advice-only tenant clinic. Other matters were referred out to the Volunteer Attorney Program. Despite this general policy, from time to time, LAOC staff attorneys do handle other types of non-fee generating civil matters for clients.



Contact people:


Angela Bostrom, Volunteer Manager, (phone), (email) Deb Groehler, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Nicole Sanborn, Legal Assistant, (phone), (email)


Office fax number: (507) 287-2035

Address:


1136 Seventh Street NW Rochester, MN 55901 (See a map)


Web Site: http://laocmn.org

Directions:

LAOC is located on seventh street on the main floor of the Northgate Center between Northgate Health Club and Planned Parenthood.   Nearest Bus Stop: Route 9, 1 - 4 blocks minute walk

Last updated on September 14, 2009