[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","dateModified":"2024-05-03","datePublished":"2010-12-31","wordCount":366,"url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/law-clinic-offers-consumers-court-access-protect\/","name":"Law Clinic Offers Consumers Court Access, Protection","headline":"Law Clinic Offers Consumers Court Access, Protection","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/law-clinic-offers-consumers-court-access-protect\/","articleBody":"LawtonCates helps establish the University of Wisconsin\u2019s Consumer Law Clinic.Out of three Madison entities comes one Consumer Law Clinic. The U.W.-Madison Law School, the Center for Public Representation and the law firm of LawtonCates have joined forces to give law students hands-on learning experiences while helping consumers in need. The new clinic promotes consumer protection through class-action lawsuits and other litigation.Founders say the clinic was created to provide greater protection for consumers in an era of decreased financial support for consumer organizations, government deregulation of businesses, and a lack of enforcement of many state and federal consumer protection laws.\u201cThe clinic isn\u2019t going to be narrowly focused on typical consumer rip-offs or the old bait and switch,\u201d says Steve Meili, clinical professor at the law school and staff attorney at the Center for Public Representation. \u201cThe clinic will deal with false advertising, consumer fraud, misrepresentation, violations of the Truth in Lending Act, unfair debt collection practices, product liability, bad-faith insurance claim denials, privacy and environmental protection.\u201dJim Olson, president of LawtonCates and one of the clinic\u2019s founders, says the clinic will emphasize cases that would not otherwise be brought to court because either the plaintiffs have limited financial resources or the potential financial recovery for the attorneys and plaintiffs is small.\u201d This project will offer representation to consumers who are all too often left out in the cold,\u201d Olson says.Consumers will not be the only beneficiaries of the clinic. Students get a chance to work on all aspects of a case, from discovery to litigation, and receive course credit for their work. Gerald Thain, associate dean of the law school and a professor of consumer law, says the project offers students a \u201cwonderful opportunity to learn about the civil litigation process firsthand. The students will be able to apply the material they learn in the law school to actual cases they\u2019ll be working on.\u201dAn advisory board of consumer advocates and lawyers will oversee the clinic, providing advice on the types of cases the clinic should handle and offering feedback on ongoing cases. Meili will directly supervise the students.For more information. contact Steve Meili at (608) 251- 4008.","description":"LawtonCates helps establish the University of Wisconsin\u2019s Consumer Law Clinic. Out of three Madison entities comes one Consumer Law Clinic. The U.W.-Madison Law School, the Center for Public Representation and the law firm of LawtonCates have joined forces to give law students hands-on learning experiences while helping consumers in need. The new clinic promotes consumer protection through class-action lawsuits and other litigation. Founders say the clinic was created to provide greater protection for consumers in an era of decreased financial support for consumer organizations, government deregulation of businesses, and a lack of enforcement of many state and federal consumer protection [\u2026]","about":"Consumer Protection","author":{"@type":"Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f34718d3c46ee2833d3ccf83f7221a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96,"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f34718d3c46ee2833d3ccf83f7221a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/author\/lawtoncates\/","name":"LawtonCates","identifier":7,"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/author\/lawtoncates\/#Person"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/lawton-cates-attorneys.jpg","height":550,"width":694,"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/lawton-cates-attorneys.jpg"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lawtoncates-logo.png","height":73,"width":438,"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lawtoncates-logo.png"},"name":"LawtonCates, S.C.","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/law-clinic-offers-consumers-court-access-protect\/#Organization1"},"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/law-clinic-offers-consumers-court-access-protect\/#BlogPosting"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Law Clinic Offers Consumers Court Access, Protection","item":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/law-clinic-offers-consumers-court-access-protect\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]