Archive for March, 2007
Getting Legal Aid in Pennsylvania
Sunday, March 18th, 2007 by <ADMINNICENAME>I have worked in the human services field for many years. One of the services that many people do not know about is legal aid services. There are a variety of legal aid services that are available to people in need of legal advice.
Most of the states in the United States have legal aid services. Depending on the size and population of the state the services may be divided by regions, counties or cities. Legal aid services include a wide range of services. Most attorneys will provide a free consultation over the telephone to answer a specific legal question. It is important to make sure that you are consulting with an attorney that has knowledge or expertise in the situation that you are seeking advice in. Do not ask a real estate attorney for legal advice about a criminal matter, and do not ask a criminal attorney about taxes. Each area of the legal service is divided into areas of expertise.
If your need for an attorney goes beyond consultation you will need to hire their services. This is where legal aid services come in. They provide legal advice and representation at a discounted or free rate, depending upon your ability to pay. Legal aid services in some states include public defenders for criminal matters, and in other states the two services are in separate offices. When they are in separate offices the legal aid services usually handle only civil matters, and matters that are in family court. Our local legal aid handles divorces for women that are from households of domestic violence. They will also protect the civil rights of vulnerable adults.
Legal services can be provided free of charge because the attorneys do the work pro bono. Pro bono means that they donate their time to represent the person in court. Many legal aid services also have attorneys that are hired through local or state governments to provide services to individuals in the community. The legal services are needed to protect the rights of the poor and also to insure that everyone has equivalent legal advice. The attorneys that work for legal aid services full time often have very heavy case loads. Due to this there can be long waiting lists to get your turn for services.
Most of the services take your financial information prior to placing you on a waiting list, to insure that you qualify for their services. The legal aid services in your area can tell you what the income guidelines are. The services will also inform you if they cannot handle the kind of case that you need legal representation for.
