Legal Aid Types
Civil legal aid is free legal aid for low- and middle-income people with civil law problems. These problems are not criminal. This means that civil legal aid helps people meet their basic needs such as health care, housing, government services, employment and education services. Providing legal assistance to people who cannot afford it can also help stop outcomes that would be detrimental to them and costly to society as a whole. If you need help with your legal problem and think you qualify for legal aid, call your nearest office to find out if you qualify. Status: October 2011 Looking for more information on this topic? Visit LawHelp.org and select your state to find more self-help resources and information about free, low-cost legal aid providers in your area. To find a legal aid office near you: Go to www. LawHelp.org and choose the state you live in to find out who in your state can help you solve your legal problem. I do not have legal immigration status.
Can legal aid help me? Each legal aid agency has its own rules about who is eligible for its services. However, if you are a victim of violent crime or domestic violence, legal aid can certainly help protect you from domestic violence or abuse, even if you do not have legal immigration status. If you are a victim of domestic violence, legal aid can also apply for immigration on your behalf. Some legal aid organizations specialize in a wide range of immigration law issues. Go to www. LawHelp.org information on the rules applicable to legal aid offices in your area. Are there cases where legal aid is not being addressed? Legal aid in civil matters does not deal with cases of pecuniary damage, such as medical malpractice, car accidents or traffic offences or criminal cases. (For the difference between civil and criminal cases, see The differences between the criminal court and the civil court). What can I expect from a lawyer? Legal aid lawyers have the same qualifications as other lawyers. Everything you tell your lawyer is confidential, which means it will not be shared with anyone outside the legal aid office. Since everything you tell your lawyer is confidential, tell them the truth. Your lawyer can help you better if you tell him the truth.
I am not eligible for legal aid, who can I go to for help? There are legal aid offices (also called legal counsel) in the United States. Legal aid organizations are non-profit organizations that provide free legal aid to people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. While many legal aid centres only help people with very low incomes, some offices have more flexible income rules. Below is a summary of the types of free legal services that may be available in your state. Non-criminal legal services for individuals who cannot afford a private lawyer are provided by SC Legal Services. Some of the types of legal services that may be available include: evictions, bankruptcies, health issues, education, mortgage foreclosures, Social Security disability, employment issues, some limited divorce and custody issues, food stamps, and social issues. Legal Services programs do not deal with criminal matters; If you have questions about criminal law, see Public Defence Services. Legal aid services for seniors often include the preparation of documents such as wills, powers of attorney, powers of attorney for health or assistance in applying for public benefits. Services may also include help with a variety of other legal issues that seniors may encounter. A person must be at least 62 years old, depending on the jurisdiction, to receive such legal advice. LawHelp Interactive helps you fill out legal forms.
Despite the dedicated advocacy of lawyers who often dedicate their careers to the needs of low-income individuals, programs are significantly underfunded and often forced to prioritize services to the most disadvantaged clients in a limited number of issues affecting their most pressing legal needs. Nevertheless, it is estimated that about half of those eligible for legal aid programmes will have to be turned back. Those who are served often receive brief advice and limited services. Rejected people rely on self-help and the provision of legal information, but even these resources are not available to everyone who needs them. To be eligible for legal aid, a person must usually provide information about their income. If a person is low-income or poor, the legal aid agency usually agrees to provide help. However, each organization or corporation may have different methods for determining whether a person has a low income. For example, a client`s monthly cost of living and the number of dependent family members can be factored into the equation. There are a number of organizations that have legal teams dedicated to providing free legal services on social justice issues, including organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Below is a list of legal assistance cases handled by Northwestern Legal Services and our private legal partners (pro bono). Some of these types of legal cases are limited to pure counselling, while others are offered direct representation or a clinical method of service. Often, you will find a lawyer willing to offer free legal services if your case involves a social justice issue. Social justice issues are easy to spot because they have implications that are far beyond the scope of your case and include things like sexual harassment in the workplace or freedom of expression. For example, if you`re trying to sue your landlord for racial discrimination, you may be able to find a lawyer willing to volunteer for you, as this case may have a broader impact on the community than your specific problem. A good resource for finding a list of organizations that offer free legal aid services is a bar association, which is the group of members of lawyers licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction. A bar association can provide contact information about resources and organizations available in the area. In some cases, they may have a list of established lawyers who are willing to offer free legal services depending on the nature of the case. If you can`t afford a lawyer, legal aid may be able to help: the total amount allocated to providing civil litigation in the United States is about $1.345 billion. The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is the largest funder of legal aid programs in the United States, providing about one-quarter of these funds. LSC is a government-funded non-profit organization that awards scholarships to 134 scholars nationwide.
With this federal funding, recipients must meet certain restrictions on advocacy and client eligibility that do not apply to many other sources of civil legal aid funding. NLADA played a leading role in the founding of the LSC in 1974 and continues to lobby Congress vigorously for funding.
