Program areas at SMRLS
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc. (SMRLS or the Organization) was formed in 1909 in St. Paul as a branch of Associated Charities to provide legal advice and representation to low-income people. In 1977, SMRLS expanded its services to 32 additional counties in the southern third of the state and to migrant farm workers in Minnesota and North Dakota. In 2016, the definition of clients eligible to be served through the migrant program was broadened to agricultural workers and that program has been renamed. A significant portion of SMRLS' operations is funded through grants from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a private, not-for-profit corporation established by Congress in 1974 to assure equal access to justice under the law for all Americans. LSC is headed by a bipartisan Board of Directors appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. During 2023, SMRLS served 10,940 clients (28,464 household members) with more than 12,096 legal matters. In addition, approximately 9,584 families and individuals benefit from SMRLS' preventative law and community education work and approximately 46,324 people accessed the website. SMRLS employs 62 attorneys and 55 non-attorney staff. SMRLS currently has offices in St. Paul, Mankato, Rochester, Winona, Albert Lea, Worthington and Moorhead, as well as several community organizations including medical-legal partnerships at a hospital and community clinics. SMRLS has gained national recognition for its tradition of sound management and innovative approaches to provide legal services for low-income people. SMRLS' nationally respected comprehensive needs assessment process, and its diversity and leadership development work, have resulted in an effective, community-based and collaborative law practice. SMRLS' operational strategic plan, The Vision for 2018 and Beyond (the strategic plan), has driven the reorganization of the Migrant programs into the Agricultural Worker Programs, establishment of a continuous process improvement effort in the intake process, addition of a human resources manager, development of a new executive leadership team and outsourcing of a portion of the IT function. Changes are focused on improving the ability of the Organization to respond to the new needs of the client population in our services area. In June 2023, the SMRLS Board of Directors adopted a plan for the next stage of SMRLS' strategic development, 2023+ Beyond Strategic Framework. SMRLS has strong working relationships with statewide local bar associations, lawyers, the state legislature, business and governmental entities and client groups. Through a series of innovative urban and rural Volunteer Attorney Programs, 80 volunteer attorneys donated approximately 1,359 hours of case representation time to eligible clients in 2023.