![Former business lawyer Cathy Haukedahl, executive director of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid relies increasingly on private donations and assistance from private attorneys and lawfirms to fulfill its century-old mission of providing legal service to the indigent and immigrants. She was photographed at her office in downtown Minneapolis on 5/16/13.] Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune bbisping@startribune.com Cathy Haukedahl/source.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/C53HBPCYALQNPENULONHRROD7U.jpg?&w=1080)
Cathy Haukedahl, a veteran Minnesota deputy attorney general and business lawyer at Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon & Vogt, was a longtime volunteer at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid before she joined the nonprofit as deputy director in 2002. She was named executive director in 2011.
She's spent a lot of time at the Minnesota Legislature recently, lobbying for more funding for an agency that's endured budget cuts in previous years. Mid-Minnesota serves the indigent and working poor through several offices in 20 mid-state counties, including Hennepin, and also operates the Minnesota Disability Law Center and two other statewide programs.
Q: How many people do you employ and what is the biggest challenge for your organization?
A: We have 62 attorneys, and 67 additional staff such as advocates, interpreters, legal assistants, intake specialists and administrative/support staff. The biggest challenge we face is the lack of adequate resources to meet the legal needs of people with low incomes to obtain … protection from domestic violence, stable and safe housing, food, health care, basic income, etc.
There has always existed what legal aid offices across the country call a "justice gap" — inadequate access to justice for people with low incomes who need help with civil law. But the recession dramatically increased this gap. When people have the legal help they need to enforce these basic rights, it helps the entire community by setting people on the pathway out of poverty.
Q: How big is your annual budget and how is it funded?
A: Our annual budget is $11.5 million. We receive funding from multiple sources. We have several grants from the federal government to support the Minnesota Disability Law Center and our work in the areas of housing discrimination, mortgage foreclosure defense, immigration and tax. We also receive funding from Minnesota … part of this is a legislative appropriation to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which is then used to fund civil legal services programs across the state. This funding has declined dramatically since 2006.
We also receive funding from Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) and the attorney registration fee through the Minnesota Supreme Court. The IOLTA funds available have decreased by 80 percent with the level of interest rates during the past several years. We receive funding from the United Ways in our service area and from foundations. We receive funding from law firms, corporations and individual donors. This source of funding has been our most stable source during the recession.
