TEL-LAW tape number 7031:
brought to you by the Oregon State Bar and your local bar association.
Legal Aid
The material presented is intended to alert you to possible legal problems and solutions.Legal Aid Services are non-profit corporations that provide free legal assistance to low income clients with non-criminal problems including the following:
Public Benefits:
This includes Welfare, food stamps, medical assistance, supplemental security income, Social Security, and unemployment compensation. If you have been denied benefits, or feel you are not getting the benefits you deserve or have been asked to repay benefits, a Legal Aid office may be able to help you;
Housing Problems: This includes evictions, lockouts, confiscation of personal property, foreclosures, discrimination (racial and against families with children), disputes with landlords over repairs, rent, contracts, deposits or difficulties with public housing;
Consumer Cases: This includes debt problems, contracts, warranties, repossession, wage garnishment, discrimination and counselling on small claims court and bankruptcy procedures;
Family Law Issues: This includes divorce, adoption, custody, support, visitation, guardianship, restraining orders, defense in paternity suits, and modification of decrees. Most Legal Aid offices limit divorce representation to certain types of situations. Some offices do not take any divorce cases unless they are emergencies;
Senior Law Problems: This includes Medicaid, Medicare, guardianship defense, and issues involving nursing homes or other types of care facilities;
Juvenile Legal Problems: This includes expulsion and suspension from school and other disputes involving schools. In addition, some offices may represent juveniles in criminal proceedings; however, this is by court appointment only;
Immigration: Some programs handle a limited number of cases in the area of immigration law.
These are the kinds of cases that Legal Aid offices generally handle. However, the kinds of cases each legal aid office handles varies somewhat. Clients and Legal Aid staff in each community where there is a Legal Aid office have worked together to determine what would be the most important legal assistance for low-income people in their area.
A Legal Aid office may not be able to accept a case, even if it is the kind that the office generally handles. There are simply not enough Legal Aid attorneys available to provide good quality assistance to all eligible people. However, in many communities, private attorneys volunteer their time to represent low-income clients at no cost and accept cases that the Legal Aid office is unable to handle.
Legal Aid is not allowed to take criminal cases. The court will appoint an attorney to handle a criminal case when the client cannot afford legal help.
Generally, Legal Aid cannot accept what are known as fee generating cases. A fee generating case is one in which the attorney is paid a fee out of the money awarded to the winning party when the case is settled or completed in court. When you call Legal Aid about your problem, they will tell you whether it is a fee generating case. If it is a fee generating case and you do not have an attorney, the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service can help you. The number to call inside the Portland Metropolitan Area is 684-3763 or, toll-free in Oregon outside the Portland Metropolitan Area, 1-800-452-7636. They will help you contact an attorney who can advise you. Legal Aid may take a case that is fee generating if private attorneys are unwilling to accept it.
Most Legal Aid offices use paralegals to assist in their cases. Paralegals are not attorneys and cannot practice law. However, they can represent clients in administrative hearings, such as for welfare, Supplemental Security Income or unemployment. In addition, paralegals conduct interviews, advise clients of benefits to which they are entitled, research and investigate cases and help negotiate with merchants, landlords or government officials. Paralegals are supervised by attorneys and help to provide quality legal services to more clients.
Legal Aid attorneys represent their clients just as private attorneys do. They work for the best possible resolution of the case for their client, and, of course, all dealings between a client and attorney are confidential.
If you want help with your legal problem and feel that you may qualify for Legal Aid, call the office nearest your home to find out if you are eligible. Legal Aid offices are always busy, and there may be a delay before an appointment can be made.
Although Tel-Law tapes are periodically reviewed, it is important for you to realize that changes may occur in this area of law.
This tape is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem and it is not intended to replace the work of an attorney. If you do not have an attorney, the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service can assist you. Again, the number to call inside the Portland Metropolitan area is 684-3763 or, toll-free in Oregon outside the Portland Metropolitan Area 1-800-452-7636. They will help you contact an attorney who can advise you.
The foregoing text is a transcription of a Tel-Law transcript that you can hear by calling 503-620-3000 or toll free (in oregon only) at 1-800-452-4776. OLA brings this transcription to you with the cooperation of the Oregon State Bar. this script is based on Oregon law, produced by volunteer lawyers as a public service. The law of other states may be different. Also, the information may be out of date. OLA encourages you to seek an attorney before relying upon this information.
(10/18/95)