Public service is in University of Wisconsin Law School student Joshua Topel’s blood.
Topel’s parents taught public school in his hometown of Racine — his mother, third grade, and his father, high school sociology.
“They spent their entire day providing education for the people in our community,” Topel, a 3L, said. “From a young age, I was constantly reminded how important it is to use your knowledge to help others.”
Law came into the picture because his grandmother, Dorothy Topel ’47, was an attorney in Marinette. Though the tax, probate and estate lawyer died when Topel was young, her legacy made an impact on him.
“I was just fascinated with her doing that,” Topel said.
He followed his heart and double majored at University of Wisconsin–Madison in political science and legal studies with a certificate in criminal justice, interning at UW Law School’s Consumer Law Clinic under clinical professor and clinic director Sara Orr during his senior year in 2019.
“I got a lot of exposure to a lot of different areas of the law, issues like ethics — and working with people who don’t have as many resources,” he said.
Inspired by that experience, Topel started at UW Law School in Fall 2021. During the 2022- 23 school year, he found himself again at the Consumer Law Clinic — this time as a clinical law student.
“We focused a lot on wage garnishment issues for clients, making sure they have enough livable wages and that these long debts they may not even remember aren’t hanging over them and taking their money away when they really need it,” Topel explained.
In Summer 2023, Topel began as a fellow at the Coalition for Property Tax Justice, a Detroit-based nonprofit funded by the Institute for Law and Organizing.
Among the group’s projects are challenging inequitable and illegal property tax assessment practices of low-income, minority homeowners and helping Detroit residents file appeals — a project the coalition hopes to launch nationally.
Recently, Topel helped the group pass a reform to regulate property assessments in Detroit by requiring more transparency and ensuring the city is following state law.
Topel hopes to continue his family legacy of community-centered work after he graduates in Spring 2024.
“What drives me to be so passionate about this is that there’s such a potential for great change,” Topel said. “I’m working with people, and I can see the changes that I’m creating.”
By Holly Marley-Henschen