Legal
Where free legal help comes from, and what each kind covers
Four different systems provide it, they cover different problems, and sending a housing question to the wrong one wastes a week.
Legal aid organisations are non-profits funded to handle civil matters — housing, benefits, family, consumer debt — for people below an income threshold. They are the main route for civil problems, and they are stretched, so they triage. An early, well-described request does better than a late vague one.
Public defenders handle criminal charges and are a constitutional entitlement in cases carrying possible jail time. They do not take civil work, which is the distinction most often confused.
Bar association referral services connect people to private lawyers, often with a reduced-cost first consultation. They are not free representation, but a short paid consultation early is frequently cheaper than the problem that develops without it.
Law school clinics take a smaller number of cases, supervised by faculty, and are often willing to take a matter that is unusual or that turns on a point worth teaching. Court self-help centres, where they exist, will not give advice but will help with the forms.
What to do next. Describe the problem and your location to your state's legal aid programme first; if it is criminal, the court appoints a defender.
studentaid.gov outranks this page. Rules, figures and dates change
between academic years. This is written to help you read the official sources, not to
stand in front of them. Start there.
Nothing here is a determination. We cannot tell you what you qualify
for, and no website can. The programme and the office that runs it decide that, after
you apply.
Still have a question?
Describe what you are trying to work out and a member of the team will answer, or direct you to the office that makes the decision.