Milwaukee Justice Center to Acquire Mediate Milwaukee’s Eviction Mediation Project

Milwaukee, Wis., February 3, 2026… The Milwaukee Justice Center (MJC), the “self help center” in the Milwaukee County Courthouse, is proud to announce that it has acquired Mediate Milwaukee’s Landlord/Tenant Mediation Project (the project) as part of its Eviction Diversion Initiative. 

Expanding on its mission to promote housing stability, this acquisition allows the MJC to provide pre- and post-filing mediation for eviction cases in-person during court and remotely through phone and video calls. With its neutral stance supporting both landlords and tenants, proximity to the court, and a strong existing relationship with Mediate Milwaukee, the MJC is the natural home for this work to continue and grow.

As part of this acquisition, the MJC hired Katie Wick, who had served as director of the project at Mediate Milwaukee for three years. Since 2024, Wick has worked closely with MJC Eviction Diversion Initiative Program Director Meagan Winn to expand post-filing landlord-tenant mediation services to prevent evictions, reduce court burdens, and support more equitable housing outcomes.

“Mediate Milwaukee’s partnership with the Milwaukee Justice Center allows us to bring humanity back into housing disputes, giving landlords and tenants a more relaxed and supportive atmosphere to work toward an agreement that works for everyone,” Wick said.

Since 2017, landlord-tenant mediation has played a crucial role in Milwaukee’s efforts to promote housing stability. Milwaukee County continues to have between 11,000 and 14,000 eviction cases filed each year. Mediation helps relieve some of the pressure on the courts, particularly for self-represented cases, which tend to be more time-consuming. Mediations also ensure agreements are realistic, understood, and adaptable. Between July 2017 and December 2019, Mediate Milwaukee provided 475 pre-court and 113 in-court mediations.
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About the Milwaukee Justice Center
The Milwaukee Justice Center is a public-private partnership between the Milwaukee Bar Association, Marquette University Law School, and the Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Courts. As the civil legal aid “self-help” center in the Milwaukee County Courthouse, the MJC’s programming aims to remove substantive and procedural barriers to self-representation and includes initiatives such as brief legal advice clinics, mobile legal clinics, family forms clinics, and more. These programs assist more than 10,000 people annually, over 70% of whom are at or below the poverty line.
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