Press Release  AG Healey Leads National, Bipartisan Effort to Support Legal Services for Millions of Americans

Boston — Highlighting the need to support legal services for the country’s most vulnerable populations, Attorney General Maura Healey and Montana Attorney General Tim Fox today led a bipartisan coalition of 42 state attorneys general asking the U.S. House and U.S. Senate Committees on Appropriations to fund the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in the Fiscal Year 2020 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

“The Legal Services Corporation helps those in our communities who need it most, from veterans, seniors, and disabled individuals who need healthcare, to survivors of natural disasters,” said AG Healey. “We are co-leading this bipartisan effort to support LSC because the funding it provides to legal aid organizations nationwide keeps families safe, healthy, and in their homes.”

LSC is a nonprofit legal services organization established by Congress in 1974 to promote equal access to justice for all Americans by funding independent nonprofit legal aid programs across the county. LSC provides millions of dollars in funding to legal aid organizations that serve and support low-income individuals, veterans and military families, seniors, survivors of domestic violence, victims of natural disasters, and disabled individuals.

LSC distributes more than 90 percent of its funding to 132 independent nonprofit legal aid programs with more than 800 offices. It is headed by a bipartisan board of directors whose 11 members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

“We are grateful to Attorney General Healey for leading this effort to support funding for legal services,” said Lynne M. Parker, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, which funds civil legal aid throughout Massachusetts. “Civil legal aid lawyers represent the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable people in times of crisis, such as when they seek to retain their housing, be safe from domestic violence, or gain access to medical treatment. Yet lack of funding means that most people who seek legal aid are turned away. We applaud the AGs for demonstrating their commitment to access to justice for all.”

In Massachusetts, LSC funds Community Legal Aid in Worcester, Northeast Legal Aid in Lawrence, South Coastal Counties Legal Services in Fall River, and the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association in Boston. The AG’s Office partners with these organizations to assist families and communities to address economic challenges and protect their rights. The AG’s Office has partnered with legal aid organizations to provide wage theft clinics in Boston since 2016, and recently expanded those clinics to Brockton. The office also works with these organizations to provide debt collection clinics in Boston district courts.    

Massachusetts and Montana co-sponsored today’s letter and were joined by attorneys general from Alaska, American Samoa, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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