Details: This CLE will examine key trends in housing matters, including rising eviction filings, increased case volume, and the ongoing impact of economic pressures on tenants and landlords. Attendees will gain insight into eviction, rent escrow, and habitability proceedings, along with how varying timelines, judicial structures, and available resources affect case outcomes. The session will also explore how these differences shape the experience of litigants across the state. In addition, participants will learn about meaningful and flexible ways to engage in pro bono housing work, including 1:1 telephone advice and full representation opportunities. The program is designed to provide attorneys with the confidence to make a meaningful difference by providing pro bono advice and/or representation in housing cases, regardless of prior experience. By attending, private attorneys can expand their skills while learning how to create a tangible impact on access to justice throughout Minnesota.
Presenters: Luke Grundman, Litigation Director, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. Luke has defended the rights of homeowners and tenants with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid since law school, beginning in 2007. He started as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, spent five years fighting foreclosures and predatory lending, and then staffed a medical-legal partnership clinic at Hennepin County Medical Center. He served as Managing Attorney of Legal Aid’s Housing Unit from 2016 – 2021 and in January 2022, became Litigation Director. Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid advocates for the legal rights of people to lead safe, healthy and independent lives in their communities. The Housing Unit defends hundreds of eviction actions per year and represents tenants in affirmative actions to secure their rights to healthy and safe homes.
Michael Vraa, Managing Attorney and Tenant Hotline Director, HOME Line. He's been working in MN landlord/tenant law since 1996 and has advised over 46,000 MN renters and given over 1,500 speeches throughout the state on landlord/tenant law. He'll be focusing on the eviction data showing that 2025 was a record high year for evictions filed and 2026 is tracking even higher. He'll also update the city ordinances that have been passed recently on required written warning periods prior to the landlord having the right to file the cases.
Sonja Woodward, Housing Program Manager and Resource Attorney, Volunteer Lawyers Network. She has been with Volunteer Lawyers Network, in some capacity, since 2021. She started with VLN as a volunteer! Before Volunteer Lawyers Network, Ms. Woodward worked as a labor attorney in California for 20 years representing public school support staff.
Sherry Ann Bruckner, Private Attorney Involvement Recruitment and Retention Coordinator, Justice North. A 1999 graduate of William Mitchell College of Law, Sherry Ann Bruckner is an experienced attorney and mediator with a strong background in civil law and a long-standing commitment to public interest legal work. She has dedicated more than 25 years to poverty law work where she advocated on behalf of low-income clients in a wide range of civil matters and successfully briefed both the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Minnesota Courts of Appeals.
Jesse Smith, Supervising Attorney, Metro Housing Unit, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. Prior to being licensed in Minnesota, Jesse practiced law for nine years in North Carolina in a variety of fields, including bicycle law, personal injury litigation, and toxic torts. Jesse received his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law.
Wendy Willson Legge, Volunteer Attorney, Volunteer Lawyers Network. Wendy received her bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe College of Harvard University summa cum laude, and received her J.D. from the University of Minnesota magna cum laude. We won’t bother mentioning what years. After a brief stint in private practice, she worked for the State of Minnesota for over 31 years, including with the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility, the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Health, and the Department of Labor and Industry. Wendy retired in 2018 as Chief General Counsel of the Department of Labor and Industry. She began volunteering with Volunteer Lawyers Network when she was approaching retirement, and has been volunteering in the housing area ever since. Wendy has been a member of the VLN Board of Directors since 2014.
Location: Zoom
CLE: 1 hour of Standard CLE credit to be applied for