Now more than ever, the legacy of commitment and achievement for clients by legal aid staff deserves recognition. This year, three staff members of Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM) are celebrating career milestones of 25, 30, and 40 years —close to 100 years of collective experience upholding the civil legal rights of Minnesotans.

In lieu of the customary in-person celebration for anniversaries of this kind, LSNM would like to recognize these staff members here — on our statewide blog — for their dedication and exemplary efforts.

Robert Enger, Supervising Attorney, LSNM - Bemidji – 25 years as of February 1, 2020
Sherry Gruenhagen, Certified Disability Representative, LSNM - Moorhead – 30 years as of July 30, 2020
Gregg Trautwein, Administrator, LSNM - Moorhead – 40 years as of June 2, 2020

Snapshot: Robert Enger
Bob’s decision to spend his entire career providing free civil legal aid comes down to fairness. He says, “It is important to understand that I grew up poor and I witnessed firsthand the differences between the haves and the have-nots. I made my mind up in the 6th grade that I was gong to be an attorney, even though I was constantly told it was not something that I could do.” It’s a big mistake to tell Bob he can’t do something! He states, “I went to law school to make lots and lots of money. I was going to be one of the haves and work my way out of the have-nots. I was not even an idealist. I never went to law school thinking that I was going to change the world and I certainly had no intention of working for a legal aid program.”

Bob admits that he had no idea what legal aid entailed. While he served as a law clerk for the Honorable James Precce, LSNM posted an attorney position. He thought it would be a good “starting” job, yet really did not know what it was or what would be expected of him.

“Once I started working for LSNM, I saw how the work I did actually made a difference in my clients’ lives. I have not looked back since and I cannot see myself doing anything other than helping those who need the help our program provides. Maybe not making lots and lots of money, but I can go home every night knowing that I did make a difference for someone today. That is what keeps me doing what I am doing. Free legal help from our program makes a difference to those who most need it. When we provide help, it is on a possibly life-changing matter. We only help on those types of issues and the work we do is not superfluous or busy body work. We are not simply working on billable hours or working to become partners in the law firm. We make a difference and we make a difference for those who could not afford to pay for the work we do, “adds Bob.

Snapshot: Sherry Gruenhagen
After working in the private sector for 11 years and not finding personal satisfaction, Sherry applied at LSNM and was hired as an intake specialist. When a paralegal position became available, she was given the opportunity to take on that role. The rest is history!

Sherry says, “This has been one of the most rewarding careers one could hope for. In my younger years, things were not always easy for my family. My mother was divorced and raising five children with no child support. We lived in project housing in a suburb of Seattle, and even in those days project housing was fairly rough. Thankfully, my mother found a very nice man to marry and took us out of poverty.”

“Not enough families have an opportunity to escape poverty. Working for LSNM has given me the ability to give something back to those in need. Over the years, I have met so many clients dealing with stress and poverty, and think to myself, ‘that could have been my life’. It truly has motivated me to try and make a difference for them in some small way. LSNM has made a huge difference in my life both personally and professionally, I will always be grateful for having a chance to work with some of the very best people in the entire world.”

Snapshot: Gregg Trautwein
Gregg received his accounting degree from Moorhead State University and joined LSNM in 1980. Gregg serves in a number of roles crucial to LSNM – chief financial officer, technology director, and data information and benefits specialist, to name a few. He recalls that when he started, his accounting system consisted of 20” green and white ledger paper and a pencil!

The biggest change he’s seen in his 40 years here has been technology. LSNM’s first desktop “computer” was an IBM 5120 purchased in 1983 at a cost of over $13,000! There’s no way he would have believed staff would have the capacity to work from anywhere using their laptop, cell phone or tablet.

In his tenure at LSNM, Gregg has been the recipient of the Minnesota State Bar Associations’ Bernard P. Becker Award and LSNM’s Champion of Justice Award.