Access to the legal system often was considered a privilege enjoyed by the wealthy alone. For low-income persons, especially those lacking access to education or a savings fund, they would tragically be saddled with debt for late payment of consumer products and utility bills, and even have to serve avoidable prison sentences, or be cut off from receiving social security public benefits.
Yet, as long as you could afford to pay for the exorbitant hourly legal fees, the legal system remains useful, convenient and effective for many.
Thankfully, legal clinics and organizations serving low-income and disadvantaged minority communities in Florida form a desperately needed safety net designed to make access to justice greater for those who otherwise be incarcerated or homeless due to not having a lawyer on their side.
Spend a few moments reading about the way various kinds of Florida legal clinics are organized and made available to everyday Floridians under Florida law.
I. Legal Aid Society: Most Commonly Accessed Tallahassee, Duval, Florida Legal Clinics in Florida?
According to the Florida Bar Foundation, the state of Florida has numerous opportunities from people lacking the financial wherewithal to afford basic family law and civil legal services dealing with the following subjects:
- Relief from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Prevention and defense against eviction in a landlord-tenant dispute.
- Hurricane and natural disaster relief.
- Aid to the elderly to protect against identity theft and accessing benefits of a deceased spouse.
- Aid to veterans receive healthcare including mental health treatment, psychological sessions, and VA benefits.
- Aid to victims of domestic violence.
In addition, the Legal Services Corporation is a national organization of chapters all of the United States founded in the 1970s to bring access to marginalized communities services considered beyond the reach of ordinary Americans.
Through free consultations, or sliding-scale arrangements—thanks to government grants and subsidies—you do not have to be able to pay for legal services, and yet will not be turned away on account of not being able to pay for the services,
Based on the Florida Courts website, you’ll find a list of the most frequented legal aid society, offering free advice and representation to residents of Florida among the many spread-out cities, urban and rural:
- Florida Rural Legal Services (serving 13 counties across Florida: Hardee, Highlands, Polk, Charlotte, Desoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee, Martin, Okeechobee, Indian River, St. Lucie and Palm Beach.)
- Bay Area Legal Services (serving the Tampa Bay area)
- Brevard County Legal Aid, Inc.
- Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, Inc. (serving 12 counties in Central Florida: Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, Sumter, Orange, Osceola, Putnam, Volusia, and Seminole counties)
- MyFloridaCounty.com (Child Support)
- Florida Legal Services, Inc. (Serving clients in all Florida counties, physical offices in Newberry and Orlando)
- Florida Justice Institute – Miami
- Heart of Florida Legal Aid Society, Inc. (serving Hardee, Highlands, and Polk Counties)
- Gulfcoast Legal Services (serving Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties)
Turning no one down for lack of financial resources, a Florida nonprofit law firm will advise you of all stop-gap measures to avoid eviction, wrongful punishment or jail sentence and keep you close to your loved ones.
This makes it imperative to hire and consult a skilled Florida nonprofit law firm with the experienced staff to bring you justice in your case.
II. How To Get A Referral at a Jacksonville, Pinellas Legal Aid Clinic To Take On Your Case To Avoid Homelessness or Prison Confinement In Florida Court
According to the Florida State Bar, lawyers have an ethical commitment as civil servants to help the public free of charge, also known as pro bono publico, or for the good of the public.
In small claims or civil court, lawyers will harness their decades of industry experience in various sectors of law, such as education, banking, real estate, eviction-defense, consumer law, among countless others—to help you avoid loss of a loved one, incarceration, incurring large amounts of debt and keeping public benefits.
No matter how dire and desperate your situation may appear to you, no legal aid clinic will turn down your case simply because you can’t afford to pay for a lawyer.
Let a generous Orlando, Miami or Jacksonville, Florida pro-bono lawyer and staff at a qualifying legal aid clinic give you a chance to give you your day in court or receive immediate protection against unlawful threats to avoid eviction or jail time.
III. Advocacy Through A South Florida Legal Aid Clinic In Desperate Times
According to Miami-based Florida Legal Services of Greater Miami, there have been numerous victories for poor and marginalized communities in being able to avoid life-altering actions by landlords and banks that cause tenants and homeowners to be made homeless by a stroke of a pen.
Through aggressive lobbying efforts to increase access to legal services for the evicted tenant and foreclosed homeowner, Legal Aid Services organizations passionately defend the right to have a lawyer no matter how much a person earns.
Through comprehensive knowledge of all areas of housing law, including homeowner’s rights during eviction and the foreclosure process, talented legal aid clinic pro-bono lawyers in Florida can help you even if you cannot afford to pay for their bill.
Through state-sponsored clinics and private donations legal aid clinics can afford to protect the violations of legal rights by all of Florida’s communities, rural and urban, making society fairer as a result.
IV. Legal Advice: Why do I Need a South Florida Legal Aid Clinic Lawyer’s Legal Counsel?
When it is not affordable to seek representation by a lawyer, legal aid clinics fill in this void by offering experienced and veteran experts in whatever legal need you have, including self-help programs, without requiring money up front.
Or, if a payment is required, then it will usually be based on a “sliding scale” based on your ability to pay.
In addition to self-help services , Florida legal aid clinic pro bono attorneys are well worth it, often are trained at the best law schools in Florida, serving as your personal advocate through an often dark time in your life.
It can be a given that a legal aid clinic’s staff will have experienced pro-bono lawyers at your disposal who are eager to dole out their specialized knowledge for the service of the underprivileged and underserved communities in Florida.
Contrary to popular belief, legal aid clinic pro-bono lawyers will be familiar with not only your legal issue affecting you, but also the context of your legal plight, including quite commonly family law, probate and elder law, that could easily mean that you’re getting the skill and experience equivalent to several decades of practical lawyering—and you likely will not have to afford the bill.
V. Why Should I Hire a Skilled Florida Legal Aid Clinic Pro-bono Super Lawyer?
Without much of a choice other than to be made homeless or serve time in jail, your best bet is to seek counsel from a qualifying legal aid clinic serving your community.
There you’ll have instant access to self-help consumer advocacy and housing programs, as well as an experienced and good counsel to help you get through the tough time of eviction, divorce, abuse or wrongful accusation of a crime.
Many premier legal aid clinics include Brevard County Legal Aid, Disability Rights Florida, Florida Rural Legal Assistance, and state-wide Florida justice Institute, among others in the Orlando, Miami and surrounding areas, offer free legal aid and inexpensive bay area legal services that include an initial free consultation, typically including an initial disclaimer, helping you stave of the worst and protect you and your loved ones from harm.
As a good client, it is a good habit to a factual narrative detailing everything that you remembered before, during and after the eviction or threat causing a legal crisis leading up to your seeking legal advice, including keeping meticulous records of expenses made during the litigation. As a dog-owner, the same rules apply to make sure you pay no more than you legally owe the victim for hyped up lawsuits not based on the facts.
VI. Forming an Attorney-Client Relationship: Call a Miami Legal Aid Bar Association Today for a Referral To A Pro-Bono Lawyer In Small Claims Court
A legal aid services company in Florida will offer basic and advanced legal services to whoever walks in their offices, without turning away those who can’t afford to pay.
Often as a last resort, with no one else to turn to, poor and marginalized people rely on the experienced and prestige of pro-bono lawyers employed by legal aid services companies to get them through times of misfortune and other adversity.
Anyone evicted, the victim of domestic violence, a recipient of an eviction or foreclosure notice—should avail themselves of a nearby family law or housing legal aid clinic to talk to a lawyer to become their personal advocate right away.
Once introduced, you and the pro-bono attorney will form a bond of trust and confidence known as the attorney-client relationship. Unless where there is a disclaimer of not forming this formal relationship, you can look to your lawyer to solve virtually any legal problem that arises stemming from your impoverished state, your soon to be finalized eviction or foreclosure, among other problems a Florida pro-bono lawyer is most knowledgeable about.
With directories spanning Orlando, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale-based legal aid firms, Lawsuit.org, beyond your local Florida bar association, or public law school library, or Florida bar office, offers premier tool helping you pinpoint the right organization based on your particular legal need without needing to worry about paying for the services.
More likely than not, a pro-bono attorney referral from a legal aid society experienced in a wide range of practice areas, will be able to quickly and efficiently offer representation to get the just result you could otherwise not afford: staying in your home, being close to a loved ones or being free from domestic violence.