COVID-19 (coronavirus) related closures: 

The Milwaukee Bar Association will do our best to keep this list as up to date as possible.

Find the Milwaukee County court Recovery Plan here. 

Southeastern WI courts: 

• State Courts: For court information around the state of Wisconsin, click here. 
• Supreme Court of Wisconsin issued orders March 22 postponing jury trials and temporarily suspending in-person proceedings statewide, with certain limited exceptions. Click here for more details. 
• United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin: Closure of building order can be found here. Civil and criminal jury trials are stayed from March 13 - at least May 1. A copy of the order can be found here. Certain criminal hearings may be held by video or telephone conference, order found here. 
  
• Appellate Court: Click here for information on appellate court operations.
• Jefferson County Courts: Beginning March 16, whenever possible, scheduled hearings are being held by phone. Some hearings are being rescheduled. Click here for detailed information and a list of phone numbers to call regarding specific court cases. 
• Kenosha County Circuit Court: issued an emergency order regarding temporary measures and guidelines to provide procedures and directions for court proceedings and essential functions. A copy of the order, effective March 17, can be found here.
• Milwaukee County Courts: New juries cancelled March 16 - April 3. Other proceedings are also affected, many will be held by phone or teleconference. Click here for more details. Click here for jury duty information. 
• Ozaukee County Circuit Courts have limited physical hours of operation. Information found here. Some hearings are cancelled or rescheduled, but not all. Please call 262-284-8409 if you have questions or concerns.
• Racine County Circuit Court: Click here for details. 
• Walworth County Circuit Court: The following order is in effect from March 17 until further order of the court. Click here for details. 
• Waukesha County Courts: The following order is in effect from March 13 - May 10. Click here for detailed information. For more information on a specific case, contact the branch office to which the case is assigned- contact information is listed here.

Legal Services at the courthouse:

• Milwaukee Justice Center, Room G9, Milwaukee County Courthouse - closed March 16 - April 3.
• Milwaukee County Courthouse Law Library, Room G9 - closed March 16 - April 3
• Milwaukee County Civil Records Center in Room G9 is now closed for in-person record requests. You can complete a request online and email it to the court. Click here for more information. Forms are also available on a table outside of Room G9. 

Legal Service Organizations: 

• Catholic Charities Legal Services for immigrants: Current information regarding closure can be found here. 
• Centro Legal’s office will be closed until at least April 6^th, but staff will be working remotely in the meantime.
• Civitas: Offices are still open, available by appointment only. Staff is taking care to schedule appointments far apart to allow for thorough cleaning between visitors. Call to reschedule your appointment with your attorney at Civitas if you are unwell. 
• Disability Rights Wisconsin will be closing their Milwaukee and Madison offices as of Wednesday March 18.
• Kids Matter Inc. remains open for phone consults and phone intakes but has suspended our onsite guardianship clinic at Children’s Court, all in person meetings and therapy sessions, office and home visits. We have also canceled our support group scheduled for March 31st.  All minor private guardianship hearings at Milwaukee County Children’s Court have been adjourned through at least 4/3 and no new guardianship hearings will be scheduled until after at least 4/3.  If someone has an immediate safety concern, they are encouraged to call 414-220-SAFE, the child abuse and neglect reporting line for Milwaukee County. 
• Legal Action of Wisconsin will not be taking any new cases until further notice. Click here for detailed information.  
• Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee: Legal Aid has minimal in person staff at both their downtown and Children’s Court offices with the bulk of staff working remotely and making telephonic appearances in emergency hearings, consistent with the Milwaukee County Circuit Court’s March 14, 2020 order. Our twice-weekly walk-in legal clinic and outreach sites are closed through April 3.
• Marquette Volunteer legal clinics are closed March 16 - March 20.  Additional closures will be listed here
• Milwaukee Department on Aging: Click here for program and service closure information. 
• The Milwaukee Justice Center Mobile Legal Clinic will suspend its mobile clinics from March 16 - April 3. They hope to be back in the community Monday April 6.  
• Mediate Milwaukee's eviction mediation on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Milwaukee County Small claims court are suspended so long as that court remains closed. All other services remain available by phone including foreclosure mediation and landlord-tenant mediation.
• Ozaukee County Family Law Assistance center: Cancelled until further notice. 
• Vivent Health (Formerly AIDS Resource Center of WI) offices are closed with staff working from home through approx mid-April, with a possible extension. Phone and email communication with clients will continue. 

Visit the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic website for more resources and assistance.

The Milwaukee Justice Center offers Milwaukee County residents free forms assistance on family issues such as divorce, child support/placement/custody modifications, and name changes. (414) 278-2910
 
The Nonprofit and Small Business Clinic provides legal advice for the owners of small businesses and nonprofits or those looking to start a small business or nonprofit. The clinic runs on Thursdays by Zoom/phone, with services from 1:00 - 3:00 pm. The waitlist opens at 12:00 pm.  

The Marquette Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic provides free legal services to qualifying entrepreneurs and new businesses in southeastern Wisconsin on business entity formation, financing, business agreements, commercial leases, intellectual property (except patents), employment, and other transactional matters.
 
The Estate Planning Clinic provides free basic estate planning services (will, living will, powers of attorney for healthcare and finances) to low income clients and veterans are provided by the The program is run on an appointment basis. Call (414) 288-5378 to schedule an appointment.
 
The Civil Appeals Help Desk answers questions about how state appellate courts work, provide information on court rules/procedures/terms/pending cases/court deadline, court forms, and check forms for completeness. (414) 671-9041 or email [email protected].
 
The Bankruptcy Pro Se Help Desk provides free forms assistance for chapter 7 debtors or people considering filing chapter 7 bankruptcy. (414) 297-3291.
 
Voces de la Frontera <<http://vdlf.org/>> is a free legal clinic to address immigration and workers’ rights matters. (414) 460-1046
 
Dryhootch assists veterans, active duty personnel, reservists, and National Guard members and their families with family, civil, and criminal matters. (414) 336-6576
 
The Milwaukee Justice Center Mobile Legal Clinic << >> brings legal services to isolated neighborhoods where it is difficult for those residents to reach free legal assistance. Find an upcoming clinic locations online.
 
The Driver’s License Recovery Program helps low-income clients with revoked or suspended licenses. This program is run on an appointment basis. Call (414) 645-5350 to schedule an appointment.