THE HIDDEN HARM
OF CIVIL LEGAL ISSUES
A path to help Americans in need
Family Features
Your landlord
is threatening
to evict
you, while maintenance
issues in your
apartment complex
have been ignored,
making it diffi cult
to get to work and
pay the bills. Th at’s
a civil legal issue.
You know you’re qualifi ed for veterans or Social Security benefi
ts, but you can’t seem to get through the red tape. Th at’s a civil
legal issue.
Th e mobile home park where you lease a space for your manufactured
home is kicking you out, and you may lose your investment
in the home as well as a place to live. Th at’s a civil
legal issue.
A survey from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) found
many Americans who experienced a civil legal matter within
the past three years (59%) didn’t seek legal help from an attorney
who could have been pivotal in getting their issues resolved.
A misunderstanding found in the survey is that more than half
of American adults (56%) wrongly believe they have a right to
a lawyer in a civil case. In fact, Americans only have a right to
a lawyer when they have been accused of a crime. Th is misperception
means some people may end up in civil court at a big
disadvantage in a complex legal system because they don’t have
legal representation.
Civil legal issues can be life changing. Even though people do
not have a right to a lawyer in these cases, free help is available
for many low-income people who cannot aff ord to hire a lawyer.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, LSC supports 130
independent, nonprofi t legal aid programs in every state, the
District of Columbia and the territories. It launched the Protecting
the Promise outreach campaign, aimed at ensuring legal
aid is available to low-income Americans who need it.
Legal aid attorneys help with the most common civil legal issues
people in the national survey said they faced in the last
three years, even if they didn’t recognize them as legal issues.
Th ose were debt collection (63%), job loss (56%) and issues surrounding
natural disasters (52%).
In addition to these issues, legal aid organizations supported by
LSC also help with family law issues like divorce, child custody
and domestic violence.
Many Americans don’t realize when they could benefi t from
legal assistance. A signifi cant portion of Americans (1 in 3) who
didn’t seek legal help for civil matters in the past three years
said they thought they could deal with the problem on their
own or didn’t think the problem was serious enough for legal
help. Additionally, almost one-quarter didn’t reach out for legal
assistance because they didn’t think an attorney could help with
their problems.
Unresolved civil legal issues can pile up, hurting individuals,
families and even entire communities. For people with low incomes,
getting help can be diffi cult. Hiring a lawyer can be expensive,
and most people don’t know where to start.
To see if you’re eligible for civil legal aid or to fi nd a legal aid
organization in your area, visit lsc.gov.•
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