Legal-Aid Study Finds Continuing ‘Justice Gap’ for Poor
October 1, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Financially strapped legal-aid clinics will be forced to turn away nearly 1 million low-income people this year, The New York Times reports, citing a new study by the nonprofit Legal Services Corporation.
The federally financed corporation said requests for aid are rising at the more than 900 offices it supports nationwide. Local legal clinics are turning away two people seeking help for every client they accept, a ratio that has changed little since the national organization’s last “justice gap” report four years ago.
The problem is particularly acute as the recession increases the need for legal services in areas such as housing and foreclosure, in which relatively few legal-aid lawyers possess expertise.
Read a Chronicle of Philanthropy story on legal-aid charities’ woes.
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