Wisconsin Judicare, Inc. was founded by the State Bar of Wisconsin in 1966. From its inception, Wisconsin Judicare emphasized utilization of the private bar to represent low income persons and provide eligible clients the freedom to choose their attorneys. Simply stated the program operates as follows. Eligible persons are issued a Judicare card. When they have a legal problem, they take their card to a local attorney to discuss their problem. The lawyer then contacts the Judicare office. If Judicare approves the case, the local attorney does the work for the client and Judicare pays the lawyers fee. From the beginning Wisconsin Judicare recognized a special commitment to serving Wisconsin Indians and Indian tribes. Wisconsin Judicare has played an active role in many major Wisconsin cases concerning tribal sovereignty and treaty rights issues in the last 30 years.