Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic
Indianapolis, IN
(February 2016)
"Justice and Love"
When an immigrant is victimized repeatedly and silenced due to fear based on her immigration status, she needs justice. She needs to see love. When a homeless teen is seeking help because he has been evicted by a corrupt landlord, he needs justice. He needs to sense love for him. When a taxpayer is facing mounds of debt to the IRS due to being the victim of a notario who falsified her tax returns, she needs justice. She needs to know that she is loved.
Justice and Love. At the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic (the “Clinic”) these are the conceptual bookends that define what 
we do. We seek justice for those who have been oppressed by legal wrongs or who don’t have access to the legal system; further, we do it in a way that demonstrates the always-fascinating, sacrificial, and transformative love of Christ.
In 1992, a sermon at Tabernacle Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN, galvanized six attorneys to start a volunteer-driven effort to serve the legal needs of the low-income folks in the area. From those inspired beginnings, the Clinic has grown to include 38 staff members, including 13 staff attorneys, 150 active volunteer attorneys, and two offices in Indiana serving nearly 14,000 people per year through legal representation and education.
The Clinic’s mission is “to promote justice through legal representation and education for our low income neighbors as a way of demonstrating Christ’s love.” Our vision statement is from Psalm 82:3-4: “Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
For us, justice is about right relationships. That’s why in our Immigrant Justice Program we assist in putting immigrants into right relationship with the United States government. In our Project PEACE (Peaceful Engagement and Conflict Education), we mediate family law cases and educate folks on how to resolve conflict, peacefully. In our Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC), we help people get in right standing with the IRS. We help our low income neighbors pursue right relationships by using legal levers.
And we demonstrate the love of Christ while doing it. We embody Christ’s love in three ways: incarnation, sacrifice, and the gospel. Christ became incarnate and came close to us—therefore, we felt call
ed to the neighborhoods that we serve. This is why we have 17 intake sites that meet 6 days per week (no intakes on Sunday), at various times of the day, as well as a statewide phone intake hotline that is active 3 days per week. We want to be accessible to our clients where they are. As John says, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). When we come close to our clients, when we feebly attempt to meet them where they are, we are following in Christ’s unique wake.
Further, we understand that the work entails sacrifice. Our attorneys, housing counselors, and other support staff sacrifice larger salaries and so much more for the tremendous pleasure of walking with our clients. For our housing counselors, who bravely champion the cause of homeowners in danger of foreclosure, there is great stress and agony. But there is also great reward knowing that they have advocated for a person bearing the image of God, and that God has seen it.
Lastly, we care about the gospel. We preach the gospel of God’s grace for sinners revealed through the Cross and the Resurrection (Rom. 4:25) to each other. We embody it and, Lord-willing, speak it to our clients should the door be opened. Christ taught us to serve “the least of these” (Matt. 25); Christ died for our sins (Matt. 20:28); and he opened the way for all people, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic background to come to the Father.
This is the zeitgeist that we bring to our work with ex-offenders re-entering society in Project GRACE (Guided Reentry Assistance and Community Education); to the folks seeking relief at our Expungement Help Desk; to the victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in our Victim Justice Program; to the men and women in our Homeless Veterans Project; and the homeless youth in our Homeless Youth Justice Project.
God’s justice and God’s love ultimately and uniquely met, and kissed, at the Cross. We’re glad that, in some small way, they can continue to do so at the Clinic. And our prayer is this: as we seek to do justice for our neighbors, we hope they would come to know the Just One who justifies.
Justice and Mercy Legal Aid Clinic
and Christian Legal Society of Metro Denver Legal Aid Clinics
Denver, CO
(June 2015)
"And Access for All"
In the United States, we have the privilege of being part of the best legal system in the world. Not perfect, but better than any country has or ever had. The focus of our legal system is, of course, justice, and as we 
pledge to our flag and our nation, we affirm and value that our country seeks to provide justice for all. The criminal justice system provides the accused with counsel. But what about our civil justice system? Without access to that justice system, because of fear, ignorance or lack of resources, there cannot be justice for all.
One organization in Denver, Colorado, is seeking to remedy the inaccessibility of our civil justice system. JAMLAC, an acronym for Justice and Mercy Legal Aid Clinic, was established in 2006 by Steve Thompson under the umbrella of Mile High Ministries. What led to the birth of this organization was Steve’s heart for the poor and asking others involved in serving the poor about what needs were not being met. He learned that access to justice, especially from a Christian perspective, was one of the major roadblocks to rising out of poverty. God gave to Steve the vision of a Christian legal aid clinic at the same time Christian Legal Society of Metro Denver (CLSMD) was developing triage clinics. Fellow Denver lawyer Jim Helfrich was instrumental in working with CLS to establish these consulting clinics which provide resources, training and support for attorneys that want to offer pro bono legal services with Christian values. As Steve worked with Jim, Steve’s dream was to go beyond consulting and praying with clients to a full-service Christian legal aid clinic that can be a bridge from whatever is oppressing people to a place of shalom.
Steve started as a tentmaker, working half time at a law firm and half time at JAMLAC. The legal clinic works closely with local ministries, including Denver Res
cue Mission, Joshua Station, Salvation Army, Providence Ministries and Open Door Ministries, as well as churches in Denver and local judicial districts. As the realization of the many legal needs of the oppressed and underprivileged grew, Steve learned about a grant opportunity from the Department of Justice with the focus on victim services. Since being awarded this grant, the clinic has expanded to 5 attorneys (2 full time and 3 three-quarter time), 4 paralegals, a victim advocate, receptionist and a development director. Because of Denver’s large Spanish-speaking population, all JAMLAC services are offered in Spanish and English.
The advantage of a full-service Christian legal aid clinic is illustrated by a client that was trapped in an abusive relationship for 15 years. The attorneys at JAMLAC helped her with a safety plan, her divorce, custody of her children, and immigration issues. After continuing to be stalked and abused, they also obtained a restraining order against her ex-husband. The staff worked with their ministry partners to help her secure housing and employment. She is soon to be married, to move into her own home and has recently received her permanent resident card. In five years, she will be eligible to become a U.S. citizen. The attorneys and staff at JAMLAC continue to have a relationship with her and enjoy seeing a family flourish once free from the oppression of family violence.
JAMLAC has also continued a close relationship with CLSMD, particularly in the triage clinics. Together they have been established clinics in eight locations, with a ninth to be launched soon. The triage clinics are staffed by all volunteer attorneys. The clinics are disbursed throughout the metro area in various churches and other ministry locations with the goal to eliminate the transportation barrier for as many clients as possible. The clinics’ hours vary from one day per week to one day per month during which free consultation is provided to those in need. CLSMD and JAMLAC provide legal aid training for interested attorneys at no charge with CLE credit offered. Attorneys learn about legal aid and what areas of law they will encounter when they volunteer their time at the clinic. Law students are also involved, providing hands-on experience as they work with the volunteer attorneys. One key to the success of the triage clinics is that more than 50 experienced lawyers are on call to answer specific questions in all areas of the law.
Eliminating the poor’s inaccessibility to justice is a daunting undertaking. One of the struggles JAMLAC faces is the limited number of cases than can be taken. For those that cannot be handled, requests for assistance are made to a network of attorneys that are willing to provide legal representation. Yet, many clients are turned away. Although the goal of access to all may never be met, JAMLAC is providing access to over 800 people per year who would not otherwise experience the great justice system our country has to offer.
- Jolene Ver Steeg, Volunteer Attorney
Mission First Legal Aid Office
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV
The Mission First Legal Aid Office provides civil legal services and spiritual counsel to underserved residents in the metropolitan Jackson, Mississippi area. Established in 2006, the Legal Aid Office is a partnership of Mississippi College School of Law and Mission First, a multi-faceted neighborhood outreach ministry. Mission First Legal Aid’s clients are people who are struggling to make ends meet and may not have access to legal representation otherwise. With a fulltime staff of three, Mission First Legal Aid serves more than 1,400 clients every year, relying extensively on its volunteer lawyers and law students. Since opening its doors to clients in 2006, Mission First Legal Aid Office has received more than 12,800 telephone inquiries for help and has assisted more than 9,700 people with advice and counsel, representation or referral to another ministry or agency. Mission First takes a Christian holistic approach to address the underlying spiritual and other problems that may be causing or contributing to the legal problem at hand.
“Marcus and Genya readily testify to the work of Mission First Legal Aid Office. They both work with a local cleaning service to support their family. Although Marcus and Genya have been together for 15 years, they only recently married and wanted to get everything in order legally for their seven minor children. They contacted Mission First Legal Aid Office for help changing their children’s surname and adding Marcus to the children’s birth certificates as their father. A volunteer attorney agreed to help the family on a pro bono basis, but the court fee for filing separate petitions for each child would cost more than $500 – much more than their budget could bear.
We talked with the senior chancellor in the county and obtained permission to file one petition for all the children so Marcus and Genya only had to pay one filing fee of $87. After the decree was entered, Marcus and Genya had to obtain the new birth certificates for the children. The MS State Board of Health charges $15 for a certified copy of a birth certificate totaling $105. This one legal issue would have cost the family more than $600 in court costs and administrative fees, not including an attorney’s fee!
During the course of the representation, Marcus mentioned that his mother had given him an older house to live in, but he was unable to apply for a loan to make necessary repairs until the property was transferred legally to Marcus and Genya. His mother had inherited the house from an elderly aunt. In the meantime, the family of 8 was living with his mother until they could get someone to help transfer the property. Again, a volunteer attorney stepped up to help this family transfer the property. Moreover, a group of men from a local church met Marcus at the house to determine both what needed to be done before the house was habitable again and to help him with projects within their skills set.
While meeting with the attorneys at Mission First, Marcus and Genya noticed the children in the Mission First afterschool program and inquired about how to enroll their youngest children. They now have four children who are part of the program and the family has taken advantage of the Mission First Medical and Dental Clinic.
A random search on the internet for legal assistance brought the family to a Christian legal aid ministry that in turn connected the family to other services. God has blessed Mission First to be a blessing for our neighbors. Marcus and Genya have renewed hope and purpose.“
–Patricia Gandy, Director of the Mission First Legal Aid Office
“Mission First has helped us in so many ways. One day my husband was looking for some legal advice and he found Mission First. Mission First helped him with his child support issue first, then we needed to get our kids last names changed. Mission First was there for us. Mission First even helped our kids with dental work.
Mission First is a part of our family. Every Monday through Thursday after school the kids have a place to go. They get help with all of their homework and they have activities like basketball for them to participate in. Mission First also helped us very much during Christmas. We are so grateful and thankful for Mission First. We thank God for sending Mission First to us.”
– Genya, Client
For more information about Mission First,
visit our website.
SCRANTON ROAD LEGAL CLINIC
Cleveland, OH
January 2015
Scranton Road Legal Clinic serves the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area, empowering and enabling local families to make prudent, informed legal decisions. Currently, SRLC is Cleveland’s only faith-based legal clinic. Over the past three years, SRLC has aided over 400 families with brief legal advice, legal education, assistance with pro se paperwork, and referrals to low-cost and pro bono attorneys. However, SRLC started with humble beginnings with only two volunteers – Joe and Sheila Fell, recent law school graduates who were called to use their education to serve those in need. Joe and Sheila first felt the call to pursue justice through their experience serving in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and were recently featured on the Alumni Blog.
“One refugee family’s case became the turning point for Sheila in really trusting that God could use—and was using—her legal knowledge.
Half of the family’s apartment had ongoing water damage and was covered in mold, but the landlord refused to fix the problem. Sheila agreed to help them, and within minutes of her clear citation of the family’s legal rights in a mediation session with the landlord, the case was settled, with the family getting back some of their rent money and being placed in a new apartment. The justice that was done opened Sheila’s eyes even more to the good she could do with her law degree.
In January of 2012, the Lord led Joe and Sheila to initiate a new program in SRMCDC’s ministry: the Scranton Road Legal Clinic, headed by Sheila. Today she and other volunteers offer workshops and advice for people who come in, empowering them to represent themselves in court (which Sheila said people do amazingly well).
But the help doesn’t stop with advice and instruction in the law. “In every legal case, there’s a lack of peace,” Sheila explained. “Damage and broken situations still remain even once family situations are resolved. . . . So we also provide people with a support network that can include prayer, encouragement, counseling, and financial counseling. We really want to be about helping the individual and family in a holistic way.”
Today, Scranton Road Legal Clinic continues to grow, partnering with local nonprofit organizations to offer Community Legal Education Workshops on Debtor/Creditor Law, Wills & Powers of Attorney, Consumer Law & Scams, Special Education, Domestic Violence, Expungement, and more. In addition, we have helped participants complete advance directives, negotiate with creditors, obtain protection orders, represent themselves successfully, and more, all while encouraging families with the love and peace of Christ.
To learn more about SRLC and its parent organization, Scranton Road Ministries C.D.C., or to help us expand our capacity through a financial gift, please visit us online.
CHRISTIAN LEGAL AID OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA
Tuscon, AZ
November 2014
In January 2003, Roy Tulgren, the executive director of the Tucson Gospel Rescue Mission, came to the January CLS Tucson chapter meeting and asked us to consider providing legal assistance to the GRM Men’s and Women's Centers. We agreed to consider and pray about it, and we did.
We contacted John Robb to seek his advice. In November 2003 two CLS attorneys go to the Men's Center for a trial visit. The first man we see is so encouraged that a lawyer actually came to the Men’s Center that he doesn't even care if we can help him. Several men were seen at this first clinic.
We decided to continue to provide legal assistance to the GRM on the second Friday of each month at the Women's Center and the fourth Friday of each month at the Men’s Center. We began in January 2004 and the legal aid ministry is still going strong. It has been associated with CLS from the beginning.
The name of our ministry is Christian Legal Aid of Southern Arizona. Our mission is help the GRM residents resolve any of their outstanding legal issues by the time they leave the GRM, so they can re-enter society as productive citizens with no open arrest warrants or open legal cases.
We now conduct four legal clinics per month on Friday afternoons, two each at the Men’s and Women’s Centers. We see seven or more residents at each clinic, so we serve about 350 persons annually. We also take GRM residents to the Tucson Homeless Court on the third Friday of each month on an as needed basis. The GRM gives us a room at both the Men’s Center and the Women’s Center to use as offices and also computers, and we have our own filing cabinets in each office.
Our legal aid ministry is all-volunteer and we have no budget currently. We have two attorney volunteers that conduct the clinics, and we have several more attorney volunteers in various specialties that are available for consultation in their offices.
We will talk about any legal issue the residents may have pending, and then we will either handle the issues in our clinics or refer to other attorneys for help in more specialized areas of the law. We generally do not do bankruptcies or more serious criminal felony matters.
Our area of greatest need is volunteer lawyers to help conduct the Friday afternoon clinics.
The current coordinator of this legal aid ministry is Jim Richardson at 1-520-850-0161 and jimmegrichardson@msn.com.
Park Avenue United Methodist Church’s Walk-in Legal Clinic
Minneapolis MN
Open Hands Legal Services
New York City NY
www.openhandslegalservices.org
Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles
Los Angeles CA
www.cla-la.org
Cabrini Green Legal Aid
Chicago IL
www.cgla.net
AZ Justice Center
Glendale, AZ
www.azjusticecenter.org
CHRISTIAN LEGAL CLINICS OF PHILADELPHIA
Philadelphia PA
www.clcphila.org/