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Legal Services Guide |
Legal
services
programs, often called “legal aid societies,”
provide
direct civil representation, at reduced cost or for free, to low income
and elderly clients. Legal services attorneys ensure equal access to
the justice system for people who could not otherwise afford attorneys.
Much of a legal services lawyer’s work involves individual
client
contact, and attorneys often take on “bread and
butter”
cases in which a client’s fundamental rights and needs are in
jeopardy—for example, representing families in wrongful
eviction
cases and legal documents problems, advocating for women who need
protection from abuse, or arguing for a worker who has been denied
employment benefits. Many legal services offices are organized by
subject matter and the staff lawyers specialize in one area of
practice. In some offices, lawyers are generalists, handling the
spectrum of cases that fall within their program’s mandate.
Client needs in relation to legal services vary widely. For example,
consumer, utility, legal documents and debt problems have been
consistently identified in the major US surveys as matters of great
importance to low-income people. Vulnerable elderly persons can have
serious legal issues when their powers of attorneys are misused and
experience problems that threaten their autonomy, dignity, health,
income, rights, and security; mothers of young children who face life-
threatening illnesses can have urgent needs in the areas of wills and
other planning for their children. Persons injured in accidents,
medical malpractice, or assaults can have legal issues arising from
these events. Sometimes people may not realize the problem they are
facing is a legal one. Other times, the person may know he or she needs
a lawyer's help, but doesn't know how to get a lawyer, or is afraid of
the cost of a lawyer.
Many of these problems can be avoided or remedied by legal aid
intervention.
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