Virginia legal advice.
The state of Virginia has several law firms that provide free legal services, consultations and advice to low to moderate income, disabled, or elderly individuals. The programs focus on those people who, without legal representation or assistance, would face the loss of such basic needed items as their home, food, or shelter. Assistance is available for personal safety matters, medical care, income, family stability, or get help if you are face with being evicted from your apartment. Find how and where to get free legal aid in VA below.
Housing law
Attorneys provide free legal representation, counseling, advocacy, outreach, foreclosure prevention and education to qualified clients. Numerous housing issues are addressed by the law firms.
Lawyers also provide extensive foreclosure assistance to Virginia homeowners. The state has been hit hard by the housing crisis, and the need for free mortgage counseling and assistance is very high among Virginia families. Lawyers will work directly with your lender to try to find a solution, delay the process, and ensure all your rights and obligations are satisfied.
One of the primary goals of the non-profit law firms is to prevent homelessness that may be caused by foreclosure filings or necessary evictions, illegal utility cutoffs, illegal lockouts, or discrimination based upon a physical or mental disability. Also receive legal support with utility disconnection notices.
Lawyers that are assigned to your case will file rent escrow actions against landlords to improve living conditions for tenants. They will also force landlords to follow all local building and housing codes that may be materially affecting the safety and health of tenants. They also file affirmative fair housing lawsuits when applicable.
Employment
Receive free legal assistance with civil rights or employment issues affecting basic living needs. Specifically, people can get help with the nonpayment or underpayment of wages, illegal terminations, denial of vacation pay, or medical leave issues. When it comes to a firing or reduction in hours, get help with unemployment compensation claims, severance pay, wrongful job loss or discharge claims, job discrimination, denial of benefits or health insurance, garnishment of wages, and more.
Consumer law in Virginia
Legal assistance programs focus on preserving clients’ assets in Virginia. Lawyers will help ensure they do not have a reduction in income, and protect their housing from unscrupulous creditors, predatory lenders and mortgage loans, and other businesses.
Debt collectors are also becoming more aggressive, and clients can receive free legal advice for how to stop collection activity. Receive help in dealing with a creditor, advice for credit card bills, assistance eliminating medical debt, condo association dues, etc. Clients are provided both advice and counsel and in-court representation when needed.
In addition, attorneys and other legal professionals provide counsel and free representation to clients seeking Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
In some cases, certain law firms will consider housing issues as consumer law. In these areas, clients who are facing the loss of their home due to a foreclosure filing or a predatory mortgage that may have been taken out are assisted through a Foreclosure Legal Assistance Project. Homeowners will be partnered with a lawyer and a housing counselor, who will then proceed to review their mortgage loans for possible legal claims and they will then assist with housing counseling and loan modification requests, when appropriate to helping resolve the situation.
Senior and elder law
Receive free legal counsel and advice for numerous senior and elder issues. Get help with program eligibility issues for Long Term Care coverage under Medicaid (Nursing Home and Community Based Care), Nursing home contract issues and defense in collection suits brought against the recipient and/or third parties sued by nursing homes, discharge from and help with addressing quality of care issues in nursing homes.
In addition, other services offered can include assisted living issues including contract, quality of health care and discharge issues. Receive information and assistance on Medicare coverage including health care and prescription drug coverage, SSI disability eligibility and overpayment issues, Social Security Retirement program questions including eligibility and overpayment issues. Pro-bobo firms may offer free support with other health related issues including debt collection and billing lawsuits from hospitals, doctors and other health related services, and support with food stamps, real estate tax exemption, and auxiliary services.
Government and public benefits
Staff attorneys and paralegals from the non-profit law firms can provide free help to clients to assist them with obtaining and preserve the following public benefits and federal or Virginia state government programs: Medicaid, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Food Stamps, Social Security, SSI, Health Insurance, Medicare, and Food Stamps.
Virginia domestic and family law
Receive free legal advice to help with a variety of issues, including domestic violence. Most firms will set as their first priority cases to help people in which the physical safety of clients and/or their children is at risk. Some other family law that they can provide assistance and representation on include:
- Child Support: If your issue is in relation to protective orders or custody, the organizations will sometimes provide consultations and representation to establish support unless the Virginia Department of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) is already actively pursuing support in the case.
- Visitation and/or Custody: Lawyers will prioritize and assist in cases in which a child’s physical and/or emotional health are in danger. They focus on instances in which the children is at risk of physical harm or violence, or because relationships which are vital to the children’s emotional health are being severely curtailed or are at risk of being placed in danger.
- Spousal Support: The firms will sometimes provide legal representation to establish spousal support unless the Department of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) is already actively pursuing support.
- Divorce: Attorneys can even sometimes help with a divorce filing. Lawyers may enter into divorce cases that involve issues of domestic violence or where the children’s physical and/or emotional health appears to be at stake in the divorce filing.
Law firm contact information
Contact the following non-profit law firms in Virginia to learn what type of free advice, representation, and services they can provide you with.
Blue Ridge Legal Services will assist low-income and other qualified clients who live in the Shenandoah Valley and Roanoke Valley areas of Virginia. They also cover the following cities. Winchester, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Roanoke, Waynesboro and Staunton. Call them at (540) 344-2080 or 1-866-534-5243 to learn more about the legal programs they offer.
Central Virginia Legal Aid Society - Lawyers from this non-profit law firms provide free legal assistance to residents of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa & Nelson Counties, and the City of Charlottesville. They also support the cities, towns, and counties of Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent & Powhatan and the City of Richmond. But it doesn’t stop there. The Central Virginia Society also covers Charles City, Dinwiddie, Prince George & Surry and the Cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell & Petersburg and the Town of Ettrick. Dial 1-800-868-1012 or 1-866-534-5243
Legal Services of Northern Virginia - This organization, which goes by LSNV, seeks to provide equal access to the civil justice system and advice for those residents who live in the City of Alexandria, and also the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William. Call LSNV at (866)534-5243.
The Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society offers support for Virginia individuals and families who live in Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe; and the Cities of Norton, Radford, Galax and Bristol, Virginia. Reach them at 1-800-277-6754.
Virginia Legal Aid Society - This law firm, which can be reached at 1-866-534-5243, will assist eligible low-income and other qualified residents who live in twenty counties and seven cities in Central, Southside, and Western Tidewater Virginia.
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