|
Find free legal advice
Legal Services Corporation provides free legal advice for low and moderate income people across the nation. In addition, it is also the largest non-profit organization that provides legal assistance to the poor. It supports programs, offers services and resources that help people who are facing foreclosure, bankruptcy, eviction, domestic violence, and it offers legal aid for many other situations. People who need free legal advice and the help of lawyers, attorneys and other legal professionals have a place to turn to.
LSC awards grants to attorneys and legal service providers across the nation. They also review the organizations who receive the grants to ensure the programs they offer are high quality and that they comply with all federal regulatory and statutory requirements. They also provide training, counseling and technical assistance to programs at the state level.
In total, Legal Services Corporation provides funding and support to almost 140 independent, non-profit legal programs at the state level. Together these programs operate almost 1,000 offices across the nation that provide free legal assistance to low and moderate income families and individuals throughout the nation. Almost five million people receive help every year. They their services at no charge to those who qualify.
|
Who do the free legal advice programs help?
A wide variety of people can receive help. They include low and moderate income and the working poor, renters who are facing an eviction, veterans, families with children, farmers, people with disabilities, homeowners who have received a foreclosure notice, victims of domestic violence, victims of natural disasters, and the elderly.
Most people who ask for aid are women. In fact, three out of four clients of the program are female, many of whom are struggling to keep their families safe and their children together.
What type of legal assistance is available from lawyers?
While the Legal Services Corporation and the non-profit organizations and attorneys its support provide a wide range of free legal advice to clients, there are some more common items that people need help with, and they include the following.
Foreclosure Legal Aid and Housing Assistance: Over 25 percent of the clients to the program involve foreclosures or evictions. These can range from people who need help to prevent a foreclosure or modify their loan, resolve landlord-tenant disputes, legal counsel that can assist renters who have received an eviction notices if their landlord is being being foreclosed on, and attorneys can even provide help to people who are trying to maintain federal government housing subsidies. Unfortunately the demand for free foreclosure assistance is tremendous, and some local attorneys just do not have the resources to address the housing crisis that is plaguing the nation.
Family law: Attorneys will help victims of domestic violence by obtaining restraining and protective orders, helping family members obtain guardianship for children without parents, advice to help parents obtain and keep custody of their children if needed, and services can be provided for other family law matters. This is the most common need that people have, as almost one third of all cases closed by the local programs are related to family law cases.
Consumer Legal Issues: About 10 percent of all cases to the program involve protecting the elderly, minorities, the disabled, and other vulnerable groups from being victimized by unscrupulous banks, lenders, or other local businesses. Free legal advice is also available from lawyers at these non-profit law firms to help people file for bankruptcy when appropriate. And believe it or not, they can even help people manage their debts and deal with creditors and debt collectors. Click here to read more on how lawyers can provide legal support and arbitration for debt settlement.
Income Maintenance: About 12 percent of the clients need help in dealing with their employers or government programs. The legal assistance provided can involve helping people obtain and retain both state and federal government benefits such as disability benefits to which they are entitled, and working Americans can also get help with obtaining promised compensation from private employers.
|
|
Who is eligible for free legal help?
Millions of people can take advantage of the program. Overall, the individuals and families who seek free legal assistance tend to be the most vulnerable among us. They also come from very diverse backgrounds, and they are a reflection of our nation. Clients encompass all races, ethnic groups and ages. In total, it is estimated that over 50 million people, including almost 20 million children, are eligible for free legal advice from attorneys supported by the Legal Services Corporation. there are some income guidelines that need to be met in order to be eligible for aid.
How do I sign up?
You can contact the main federal office at (202.295.1500) to learn more about the free legal programs in your state and local area. Or find information below on programs and attorneys in your area.
New York (legal information)
New York assistance (free advice and representation)
Are the programs effective?
Yes. They are so effective, and the demand for its free legal services are so great, that many of the local programs and law firms that are paid for by federal government grants from the the Legal Services Corporation say they face rising requests for help and the limited funding is starting to impact how many people are able to receive assistance. Even issues such as the great recession and the nation’s housing crisis has placed new pressure and demands in particular on legal specialties and services like foreclosure advice. This is an example of where only a few of the lawyers and attorneys who are part of the program contribute their services free of charge as many do not have great expertise. It is now becoming common for legal aid offices to turn away two potential clients for each one they can help as the funding is drying up and the demand is not slowing down.
|
|
| |||||||
|
|
| |||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
|
|
|