Posted Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 -- 4:51pm
By Zac Schultz

Madison: Vera Korzun has just finished preparing a 25 page legal motion, and she doesn't know what to do next. She'll probably end up walking around the Dane County District Attorney's office, asking if anybody needs help.

The sign on her office says it all. Vera is a volunteer attorney. "I'm doing lots of legal research and writing for more difficult cases. I'm preparing briefs and motions. Those cases are usually time consuming and it requires a lot of thinking so I'm learning a lot through this process."

Dane County D.A. Brian Blanchard says they've been bringing recent law school graduates in to volunteer since last year. "Reviewing police reports, drafting complaints, helping with legal research."

Most of the volunteers just can't find a job. "The worse the economy gets, that's bad for people, but it can be a boon for us," says Blanchard.

The UW Law School paid out $40,000 in stipends last year to 30 graduates who decided to volunteer with non-profits or government agencies.

The Dane County D.A.'s office had five for part of last year. They have all moved on.

Vera arrived in September. She didn't come from the UW, she received her law degree in her native Belarus, and is also licensed in the U.S. She's living with family in Madison while looking for a job with an international firm. "Then I heard the D.A.'s office is using volunteers, and that's why I applied here."

Blanchard says the help is great, but it's not a substitute for the full staffing they need. "It's a nice benefit, it's free to the taxpayers, but people coming and working here for a short period of time on a volunteer basis- that's not going to meet the needs of victims that we have now."

A spokesperson for the UW Law School says they don't know if they will offer stipends for unemployed graduates again this spring. But she says it's likely the need will still be there.