Civil legal aid and how to find it

2.Civil Legal Aid and How to Find It?

Although 63 million Americans qualify for civil legal aid, 50% of the applicants don't receive it because of a lack of resources. In most cases, low and medium-income families face many civil issues, and they find it problematic to deal with them because of financial constraints. They might not be able to pay thousands of dollars to attain legal assistance.

That's when civil legal aid becomes an option to help them deal with civil cases. Here, we will look into civil legal assistance, how to find it, and its difference from Pro Bono.

What is Civil Legal Aid?

Civil Legal Aid refers to free legal help provided to low and medium-income households. It helps them take care of civil or non-criminal cases to attain legal justice. Legal aid can be legal information or advocacy, including direct services or court proceedings. It can be representation, identifying, and addressing systemic issues such as data collection and finding solutions. Other than that, civil legal aid can be self-help or community education, including workshops, chat tools, online information, etc.,

Through civil legal aid, the aim is to provide fairness while dealing with legal matters to everyone in the US. There are different cases for which you can rely on civil legal aid. They are in matters related to basic necessities access, ensuring safety, and enabling economic security. Now, let's look at these criteria for civil legal aid in detail:

 Basic necessity access to legal aid covers housing, healthcare, disability, and government benefits.

 Housing help includes subsidized housing benefits, loans to repair, eviction, etc.,

 In healthcare, there is Medicaid, Affordable Care Act, etc.,

 Finally, disability and government benefits look into programs like FEMA, SNAP, TANF, School Lunch Program, etc.,

 Concerning the safety and security of Americans, there are legal aids offering individual safety, family law, and children or youth education.

 For individual safety, you can approach for free legal aid in cases related to domestic violence, stalking, elder and child abuse, etc.,

 As part of family law, there is divorce, adoption, etc.,

 When it comes to child and youth education, a condition under which you can get free legal aid is for Student Discipline Hearing.

 Lastly, in matters related to economic security, you can gain legal help for employment, taxes, and consumer protection.

 Regarding employment, you can approach the court with free civil legal aid if your issue is about proper payment, accommodation for disabled employees, etc.,

 Concerning taxes, you can try out civil legal aid if the concern is about filing or gaining low-income tax. There are other conditions as well where you can attain a fee exemption related to taxes.

 Finally, as a low or medium-income American, you can seek free legal aid if you face issues related to consumer protection. Here, you can avail of the benefits of legal assistance in case of unfair debt, consumer fraud, scam, etc.,

These are the different conditions under which you can acquire civil legal aid from public or private legal service providers.

What is Pro Bono, and How is it Different from Civil Legal Aid?

Pro Bono or Pro Bono Publico means for the public good and focuses on providing professional legal assistance to the needy. Here, the lawyers won't take any payment from the concerned person seeking legal help. As per the American Bar Association, every lawyer should fulfill the guidelines mentioned in Model Rule Six. It shows that it is essential to practice Pro Bono, a free legal service in the US.

As per the legal framework, a lawyer has to practice 50 hours of free legal service as part of Pro Bono. It can help people facing financial constraints or NGOs offering help to underprivileged populations. In most cases, law students practice Pro Bono to improve their professionalism and enhance their knowledge. In other situations, lawyers and law firms engage with Pro Bono Services to build their reputation and fame.

There aren't many differences between civil legal aid and Pro Bono. But efficiency can be a concern when it comes to Pro Bono. As discussed, law students can also volunteer to perform Pro Bono. Therefore, Pro Bono lawyers may have a lower competence than lawyers providing civil legal aid. Hence, it would be best to opt for civil legal help if you require legal assistance for non-criminal cases.

How to Find Civil Legal Aid?

You can find free civil legal aid in a variety of ways. They range from approaching self-help centers, NGOs, Pro Bono volunteers, law schools, court-based centers, non-profit organizations, etc. Although they offer help, the single-largest body providing civil legal aid in the US is the Legal Services Corporation or LSC. It is the body receiving the most funding from the US government and has a bipartisan board of directors. Here, the US president has appointed 11 members to the LSC body. There are over 134 independent non-legal aid programs offered by LSC, and they have 800 offices in different parts of the US. You can reach out to them to seek civil legal help.

In most cases, LSC extends its legal aid to those with an annual income of less than 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. And most importantly, 25% of civil legal help offered in the US is by LSC. There are other NGOs as well that provide services without LSC funding. Regardless of your financial situation, you can attain help if you are a victim of domestic violence or an older American citizen.

However, before you reach out to a legal aid provider in the US, you have to perform online research. It will be handy if you can contact them before approaching them directly. By doing this, you can understand whether or not you fulfill the eligibility criteria based on your income. It will benefit you to stay prepared beforehand.