Legal Aid Center Of Southern Nevada Inc

Programs: The children's attorneys project has as its primary mission to ensure that abused and neglected children in our child welfare system have their own voice in court through legal representation. We represented approximately 3/4 of the children in foster care, many of whom view their attorney as the only person who has positively impacted their lives. Our special education program assists children who are being denied their federally mandated special education rights plans and ensures that all children have equal access to a quality education. As a part of this effort, we also recruit volunteer educational surrogates to stand in as the child's "parent" at these hearings and to advocate for the child's special education rights.

legal aid center of southern nevada provides free legal counsel, advice and representation to low income individuals who cannot afford an attorney. Its guardianship advocacy project provides representation to vulnerable senior citizens and individuals with disabilities whose civil rights and property are at significant risk of exploitation and loss. The project provides a voice in court proceedings for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Legal aid center's consumer rights project helps families reach self-sufficiency by resolving consumer-related problems such as foreclosure, predatory lending, and car repossessions. The organization also assists individuals with serious illnesses who have been denied social security benefits.

the family justice project (formerly the domestic violence project) provides a wide range of representation in family court, primarily helping victims of violence, the elderly, people with disabilities and those with limited english speaking skills. Our attorneys appear at hearings to enforce protective orders and represent individuals with divorce and custody issues in family court. We also help children, victims of domestic violence, and victims of crime with immigration assistance so they may remain lawfully in the united states.

the pro bono project recruits private attorneys to assist low-income individuals with meritorious cases in all areas of civil practice: divorce and custody (primarily focusing on domestic violence victims), consumer fraud, real estate disputes, bankruptcy, foreclosure mediation and abused and neglected children. By providing training and mentoring, legal aid center encourages private attorneys to provide quality legal service without charge to those who need it most. Legal aid center placed 923 cases with pro bono attorneys and approximately 1,500 people in the community had a pro bono attorney working on their behalf during the year. Over 3,800 people were assisted through our many ask-a-lawyer programs throughout the year in such areas as family law, bankruptcy, foreclosure, landlord/tenant, senior citizen issues, poverty law and small business issues. The civil law self-help center provides legal information and forms to those wishing to represent themselves in civil matters in the clark county court system. Types of matters include small claims, evictions, housing, harassment, and lawsuits and judgments for money. The mission of the civil law self-help center is to increase informed access to the court by providing education, information, legal forms, community referrals and support services to self-represented civil litigants, regardless of their income. Over 52,000 people used the civil law self-help center in 2017. The family law self-help center provides legal information and forms to those wishing to represent themselves in domestic matters in the clark county court system. Types of matters include divorce, custody and paternity, separation, annulment, protection orders, child support, guardianship, probate and juvenile matters. The mission of the family law self-help center is to increase informed access to the court by providing education, information, legal forms, community referrals and support services to self-represented civil litigants, regardless of their income. Over 49,000 people used the family law self-help center in 2017. The community legal education project is our partnership with the unlv william s. Boyd school of law where law students, supervised by legal aid center attorneys, teach free legal information classes in the areas of divorce, custody, guardianship, foreclosure, bankruptcy, and small claims. The students gain valuable real world experience helping those who need assistance and the public is afforded the opportunity to learn more about their legal issue at no cost. Family law, bankruptcy, and small claims classes are also taught in spanish. At the endof 2017, over 55,000 people had attended these classes since the inception of the program.