In Wisconsin, legal obstacles like suspended licenses or forgotten eviction records can quietly block jobs, housing, and life’s opportunities. LIFT Wisconsin started as a collaboration of Dane County nonprofits – and has grown into a statewide initiative offering both online tools and in-person clinics to help people clear those hurdles themselves.
Led by Executive Director Erica Nelson, LIFT uses its Legal Tune Up tool and mobile clinics to empower Wisconsinites: giving them the ability to check and resolve civil legal issues from criminal records to child‑support orders, without needing to hire an attorney. Through tech, training, and community partnerships, LIFT Wisconsin is giving people a clear path forward.
1. What is your company’s mission?
LIFT Wisconsin provides efficient, innovative technology-driven assistance that dismantles the legal barriers preventing Wisconsinites from achieving economic stability. Through our commitment to improving access to justice for everyone, we transform and reform legal systems, increase personal agency, and democratize data.
2. What inspired you to start your company?
LIFT Wisconsin was created by several Dane County non-profit organizations in 2020 to help increase economic prosperity and social justice for Wisconsin residents by removing legal barriers. Now, we collaborate with multiple partners to achieve our mission and expand our reach to provide services in every corner of Wisconsin. We do this through in-person clinics, by training justice navigators, and developing the LegalTuneUp tool.
3. What problem are you solving?
We envision a world without legal barriers. And that means empowering and strengthening communities at the root by using technology to interrupt the poverty machine.
4. Who are your customers?
Wisconsinites who face a civil legal barrier they can’t solve because they don’t know about it or can’t afford an attorney. Examples include: driver’s license restoration, changing child support orders, removing criminal and eviction records, and answering debt claims.
