Lawyers Clearinghouse On Affordable Housing And Homelessness Inc

Programs: The legal referral program received one hundred fourteen (114) requests for assistance from nonprofit organizations. The clearinghouse successfully matched ninety-eight (98) of these eligible organizations with attorneys providing pro bono legal assistance. Our goal was one hundred (100) cases placed. Two (2) clients were ineligible for our services. An additional thirty-seven (37) clients received on-site representation on matters with finite scopes, such as lease reviews and bylaws updates, through five (5) clinic-style consultation programs staffed by corporate counsel and firm attorneys. Staff provided in-house brief counsel to fifty-nine (59) clients. Three hundred thirteen (313) volunteer attorneys were recruited for this program with an additional seventy-five (75) law students and two (2) non-lawyer volunteers. Our goal was two hundred (200) pro bono attorneys. The clients for legal referral were required to operate or intend to operate as a nonprofit in massachusetts; provide services to low or moderate income people or serve a compelling community need; and be unable to afford legal services or demonstrate that the cost of obtaining assistance would adversely affect their ability to fulfill their mission.

the massachusetts legal clinic for the homeless provided legal assistance to two hundred six (206) homeless and very low-income men and women. The target was one hundred seventy-five (175). The clearinghouse recruited and trained attorneys and paralegals who provided direct legal services at eighteen (18) clinics which were held throughout the period. The target was eighteen (18). One hundred seventy-nine (179) attorneys and paralegals participated from brown rudnick; choate, hall & stewart; fm global; goulston & storrs; hinshaw & culbertson; liberty mutual; locke lord; mintz levin; nixon peabody; nolan sheehan patten; ropes & gray; state street; and wilmerhale. Individual clients were all low-income and homeless guests of the pine street inn, st. Francis house, bridge, metropolitan boston housing partnership (mbhp), medeiros center, and southampton shelter, or otherwise using shelter services.

the access to justice fellows program engaged nineteen (19) fellows who provided legal services to increase access to justice in massachusetts at fourteen (14) partner organizations including the american civil liberties union; catie's closet; conservation law foundation; equal justice coalition; discovering justice; greater boston legal services; justice bridge legal center; lawyers clearinghouse; massachusetts access to justice commission; massachusetts law reform institute; medical-legal partnership|boston; national lawyers guild; quest; and veterans legal services.