Cancer Legal Care

Programs: 2014 was cancer legal line's (call) biggest year in terms of clients served, program expansion, and organizational growth. Our legal care consultation program, our largest combined program, provided free legal services to a total of 399 minnesotans who needed legal care to be well. Legal care provided in this program includes issues in the areas of employment law, social security disability insurance, and estate planning/guardianship. Each and every client who contacts call meets with one of our three staff attorneys--either in person or over the phone. For approximately 65% of our clients, this consultation is all they need to learn of the laws that apply to their situation or to get their cancer related legal needs addressed and questions answered. The other 35% of our clients need additional legal care, most often in the area of estate planning or guardianship documents for the care of their minor children. At this point, depending on the type of cancer, geographic location, and legal need of the client, a call staff attorney will provide further legal care in house or coordinate a placement with one of our approximately 50 volunteer attorneys throughout the state. Our volunteer attorneys provide significant enhancements to the legal care call is able to provide to our clients every year given our modest staff size and operating budget.

of the total clients served as part of our overall legal care consultation program, 94 of them were provided legal care as part of the breast cancer legal program (bclp). The bclp is funded entirely by a grant from susan g. Komen minnesota and provides targeted legal care to call's biggest group of clients by diagnosis: women with breast cancer. The bclp also conducts group presentations on cancer related legal topics. In 2014, the bclp conducted a total of 9 presentations attended by over 1,200 cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones.

of the total clients served as part of our overall legal care consultation program, 36 of them were provided legal care as part of the dds oncall program. The dds oncall program, began on january 1, 2014, and provides targeted legal care to the growing number of minnesotans affected by oral, head, and neck cancers. Additionally, call attorneys conducted 15 group presentations attended by 320 cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones. The dds oncall program is funded entirely by a grant from the delta dental of minnesota foundation.

in may 2014, call and university of minnesota health began the first oncology based medical legal partnership in minnesota with the blood and marrow transplant unit (bmt). Call attorneys provide free legal care to blood and related cancer patients as part of their pre-transplant work up via the onsite bmt legal clinic. A study of the impact of legal care on patient perceived stress and well-being is being conducted as well.