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9 Places to Find Free Legal Aid
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association is a voluntary bar association of law students and lawyers that provides free legal aid to U.S. Citizens. Furthermore, it creates the model ethical codes to be followed by law institutions and determines their academic standards.
The organization is federally funded to offer free legal advice and free legal representation to low-income people.
It does so by offering the following services:
- Legal aid: provides Legal aid lawyers to defend the lowly in society.
- Pro Bono programs: which match volunteer law practitioners, such as free divorce lawyers, etc., with low-income clients.
- Free legal answers: to low-income clients on an online basis.
- Help for specific groups: assists individuals in unique circumstances to get legal interventions
- Informational support: provides the poor with tools or know-how on how to solve simple legal issues.
As a federally supported entity, you’ll get help from the organization, especially if you’re a low-income earner.
The Legal Aid Society
The Legal Aid Society is a New York-based social justice law firm that believes in providing equal justice to all.
If you’re a low-income earner and need legal help, you can visit one of the organization’s free legal help clinics in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. You do not require an appointment to do so unless the organization stipulates so.
There, you’ll get free lawyer advice on issues such as family law on the spot.
However, this will depend on two main things:
- Your legal problem; for instance, if you wanted free legal aid, divorce advice, or some other legal opinion
- Your family income levels
You can contact the organization for any upcoming clinics or help if you have any legal issues. However, the firm will not help you with criminal issues.
LawHelp.org
LawHelp.org is an online-based entity that provides free legal resources and assistance to low-earners.
Some of the free resources you’ll get from the organization include the following:
- Law offices and local legal aid,
- Links to social service bodies, such as CFPB, State’s legal aid website, immigration lawhelp.org, and statesidelegal.org, etc
- Court information and self-help information
- Free attorney advice
Similarly, you can use the organization’s LawHelp Interactive (LHI) interface to create free legal documents to help you in court. Again, all you’ll have to do is answer the provided specific questions.
To find a particular LHI form for your state, you have to:
- Visit Law help interactive
- And click on the find forms button.
- Choose one that is written in a language that you can understand. If you don’t find any, you can communicate with the court or a legal organization for help.
- Readout all the instructions before creating your document and after printing it out
In a wrap, LawHelp interactive is only meant for folks who cannot afford paid services and want legal aid such as free lawyers for child custody, among other things.
The service is available for New Mexico, New York, California, and Minnesota residents. However, you cannot use the forms for commercial purposes.
Pro Bono Net
Pro Bono Net is a web-based membership site for legal advocates and courts, law students and professors, legal aid attorneys, and pro bono lawyers across the U.S. and Canada.
Currently, the organization partners with top civil rights groups to achieve specific objectives.
Such include:
- The use of I.T. within the non-profit legal sector
- The increase in volunteer participation
- An increase in collaborations between advocates and non-profit legal organizations dealing with the same issues or within the same locality.
In doing so, the platform will help you get several free legal aid services and resources.
For example:
- Free attorney help
- Free Pro bono lawyers
- Document preparation
- And virtual consultations
Human Rights First
Human Rights First is an independent international human rights body headquartered in Washington and New York City. Over the last three decades, the organization has defended human freedom, rights, and dignity around the world. Therefore, it can be trusted to affect what it says.
If you’re an asylum seeker, the organization will provide you with trained lawyers on a pro bono basis to help with your case. Besides, it will guide, train, and mentor the lawyers throughout your representation period so that they can provide the highest quality service possible.
These lawyers will mainly represent you before an immigration judge or at an asylum interview.
Humanrightsfirst constitutes an independent action and advocacy organization that challenges the U.S. government to live up to its Ideals. It believes that American leadership is important in the global struggle for human rights
You can use the following steps to get asylum intervention from the organization:
- Head to the human rights first asylum program page
- Select the language you’re conversant with from the list given. For example, you can choose from English, Spanish/Española, or all languages.
- You can navigate to the services you want from the “Get legal info” and “Find a lawyer” buttons.
Taproot Foundation
Taproot Foundation is a non-profit firm that focuses on I.T., creation, strategic leadership, marketing, and H.R. resource experts in the pro bono service industry. It does so to enable the creation of infrastructure for other free legal aid organizations.
With such a kind of specialization, the organization can help you get expert pro bono service. For instance, it can ensure that any volunteer who will represent you has the necessary experience and skills. Often it will link you with low-income divorce lawyers if you have a marital case, for example.
By registering with the organization, you’ll be able to access any of the following supported national and regional pro bono programs:
Equal Justice Works
Equal Justice Works is another non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. that focuses on public service lawyer careers and their essential services. As such, it brings together a comprehensive network of lawyers, and law students, among other legal stakeholders for facilitation purposes.
The organization provides free legal aid to special groups needing assistance. Such include refugee children, people with disabilities, immigrants, and war veterans, among others.
For instance, it has in the past hired law students to:
- Remove impediments for low-income clients wanting employment
- Offer free legal aid to veterans.
You can contact the organization for guidance on how you can get free legal aid.
Lawyers Without Boarders
Lawyers Without Borders is a non-profit corporation whose primary goal is to bring about integrity, build capacity, and improve the global rule of law within the justice industry. For instance, it aims at creating resources and programs that bring justice closer under the principle of independence and neutrality.
To provide you with free quality pro bono services, the organization collaborates with willing judges and lawyers and integrates them into its work.
Some of the legal issues you can cover using the service include:
- Family-based petitions
- Violence Against Women Act petitions
- U or T visas
- Asylum seeking, immigration, or deportation issues
- Child violence and crimes such as trafficking
- Special immigrant juvenile status
- Legal aid divorce
International Refugee Assistance
International Refugee Assistance is a global entity that organizes lawyers and law students to create and implement a set of human and legal rights for displaced individuals and refugees. It does so by providing systematic advocacy, litigation, and direct legal aid to persecuted persons. As a result, it empowers upcoming human rights leaders.
As a refugee, the organization will provide you with free legal aid in the following ways:
- Educate you regarding your rights as a refugee
- Provide you with protective services, as well as help you navigate the complex legal systems to enable security and permanent residency
- Will represent you in the chasing of strategic litigation to allow a change in policy or legal practice for better refugee protection.
Its trustworthiness can be exhibited through its over a decade of service to Maryland, Silver Spring, and New York residents. For example, its lawyers have helped solve complex immigration and asylum cases among residents and clients.
Free Lega Aid FAQ
What qualifies for free legal aid?
For you to qualify for free legal aid, you should meet the following conditions:
- Your Household income is less than 125 per cent of what the federal government considers as the poverty level, except if you live in Hawaii and Alaska
- If you’re currently receiving financial aid from other programs
- You’re living with HIV/AIDs
- You’re a Community Organization
- You have a Civil rights issue case
- You’re an immigrant
- If you’re a disabled veteran
- You’re a victim of domestic violence
- You’re needy or poor as defined by a court of law
- You have been accused of a crime
