Community Spotlight: Legal Aid Society & Understanding the Civil Justice System

In this episode of Community Spotlight: Host Leah Haslage sat down with Katherine Hollingsworth and Eric Zell, attorneys for the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.

As we discussed in a previous blog post, the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland is a non-profit law firm that provides legal aid and advice to low income residents and families of Cleveland. Founded in 1905, the Legal Aid Society is the 5th oldest legal services organization of its kind country.

There are 4 main legal areas that the Legal Aid Society covers: consumer law, family law,  housing law, and H.E.W.I.I. (housing, education, work, immigration, income) law. The kind of cases that fall under this umbrella include: eviction assistance, access to special education, applying for food stamps,  and victims of domestic abuse.

It’s important to note that Legal Aid Society will not assist in any criminal cases. This means that cases where a defendant is being prosecuted for a crime they may have committed.

While Legal Aid Society cannot handle every case that comes to them, they can provide advice and moderate assistance via their legal aid clinics. We highlighted a few in our previous blog, but if you’re interested in learning about upcoming clinics, you can visit https://lasclev.org/events/category/brief-advice-clinics/. Some clinics are by appointment only.

If you have any questions we didn’t cover, you can visit www.lasclev.org or call the Legal Aid Society Intake Department at 888-817-3777. If you’d like to schedule a visit in person, their downtown office is located at 1223 West 6th Street.