If you believe you have been deprived of legal services or otherwise unlawfully discriminated against because of any of the protected characteristics above, you may contact one of the following entities to file a complaint: To receive free assistance, you must be eligible for services by complying with policies based primarily on income, household wealth and size. Generally, you are eligible if your income does not exceed 125% of the federal poverty income guidelines. In some counties and in some cases, domestic violence and elderly clients may not be subject to income guidelines. There are also different policies for residents of certain counties who seek help with mortgage foreclosure. Legal information and self-help tools are available on our national websites. If you need legal assistance, please call our helpline on Monday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Our helpline specialists will guide you through a short aptitude testing process. If you are eligible for our services, speak to a lawyer who will discuss your problem with you. Cases that require more than one telephone consultation are handled at local offices according to our case acceptance criteria. If your income is currently below the national average for the number of people in your household, you may be eligible for free legal aid. Most legal aid clinics and pro bono lawyers (private lawyers who offer free legal aid) serve people whose household income is less than 125% of the government-recognized poverty line. The exceptions are Alaska and Hawaii, which have higher income thresholds. Lawyers in a legal aid office offer the same legal services as all other lawyers. They can advise and represent you in most areas of civil law, although each program has priorities for the type of cases they will accept.
Many legal aid offices may be able to resolve other issues such as immigration, consumers and people with disabilities. Some legal aid centres focus on one area of law, such as disability law or housing law. Some legal aid offices receive funding from the government, which may limit the type of cases they can accept. Legal aid is free legal aid for people who do not have a lot of money. Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida (CLSMF) is the oldest and largest provider of free legal aid to low- and middle-income residents of Central Florida. Since 1966, we have provided legal advice and advocacy to help the people of Central Florida meet the basic needs of life: food, shelter, health care, safety, and education. Who is still eligible for independent counsel? In non-criminal or „civil“ cases, you are not entitled to a free lawyer. But there are many legal and pro bono aid programs that provide free legal aid to the poor in civil matters. These programs typically help people whose income is less than 125 percent of the federal poverty line, although in some cases they help people with slightly higher incomes.
(See the table below for current income guidelines.) In addition, the elderly, the disabled, victims of domestic violence, military service or other special circumstances may be entitled to assistance, even if their income is slightly higher. Because these community-based programs often operate on very small budgets and do not have sufficient resources to serve all those eligible, they only handle certain types of cases and have to turn away many people who seek help. Appropriate legal aid is available to all eligible clients, regardless of race, age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disabled veteran and/or Vietnamese-era veteran, or other features protected by federal, state, or local laws. You can send us your request for legal assistance at any time by clicking here to complete an online application. You`ll need 15-30 minutes to answer all the app`s questions, and your app can`t be saved halfway, so plan accordingly. Not everyone has the right to representation. The United States Constitution provides only a right to counsel in criminal cases. Legal aid covers only civil cases. Before a case is accepted, it must be established that it is legally substantiated and meets the priorities of legal aid.
Every year, thousands of people are simply advised or referred to another authority, or informed that their legal problem does not fall within the priorities of legal aid. To qualify for legal aid, you must have a low income. In addition, your legal services program should help you resolve the legal problem. Legal aid programs have very little funding. You can only work on a small number of legal issues at a time. Lawyers divide legal issues into 2 groups, criminal and civil. If you can`t afford a lawyer, but you think you qualify for free legal aid, the following can help you move in the right direction. However, be sure to check with your local court or local legal aid program for more detailed information about admission. There are several legal aid organizations in Tennessee.