About MLAC
The Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) was established by the Commonwealth in 1983 to ensure that low-income people with critical non-criminal legal problems would have access to legal information, advice and representation.
MLAC is the largest funding source for civil legal aid programs in Massachusetts.
Claribel Morales awarded Bart Gordon Fellowship to work at Community Legal Aid
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacCommunity Legal Aid, a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to low-income and elderly residents of Western and Central Massachusetts, is pleased to announce that Attorney Claribel Morales has been awarded the Bart Gordon Fellowship by the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC). The fellowship will support Ms. Morales’s housing work throughout Western Massachusetts, where […]
COVID-19 is a disaster for people with disabilities. Without 30-year-old law, it would be worse
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacThe isolation can be terrifying and tragic. The stress can exacerbate mental illness and other health problems. Add the loss of mobility and independence, the disruption of routines: the beloved caregiver who doesn’t come, the day program that doesn’t open, the concern that lack of support will give families no choice but to institutionalize. In […]
White, white, white. Then there’s me.’ A Black lawyer shares her experiences
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacDanielle Johnson is a staff attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services focusing on elder housing and disability benefits. Here, she shares her experiences as one of the few Black lawyers during weekly Housing Court proceedings (pre-pandemic) at the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, which is named for the first Black politician from Massachusetts to serve in […]
CLA Attorneys Selected for Ground-Breaking Program to Advance Racial Equity
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacCommunity Legal Aid, a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to low-income and elderly residents of Central and Western Massachusetts, is pleased to announce that four of its staff members have been selected to participate in the 2020 Racial Justice Institute, a leadership program organized by the Shriver Center on Poverty Law. The Institute […]
Appeals Court decision allows survivor of domestic violence to stay in her home
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacBOSTON (June 29, 2020) – A survivor of domestic violence is able to stay in her New Bedford home after the Massachusetts Appeals Court reversed a Housing Court decision to evict her. The woman, identified in court records as S.R., was represented by Laura Camara and Stephanie Herron Rice, Attorneys at the Justice Center of […]
Legal Aid Speaks Out Against Racism
/in Blog, News Coverage - Archives, News Coverage - Current, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacSince the death of George Floyd, legal aid organizations across the state have issued strong statements against systemic racism and called for collaboration and change. Their statements are below. Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts Community Legal Aid Center for Law and Education Center for Public Representation De Novo Center for Justice and Healing Disability Law […]
MLAC Statement: We Must Collaborate To End Racism
/in Blog, News Coverage - Archives, News Coverage - Current, Press Release - Archives, Press Release - Current /by mlacThe core tenet of civil legal aid is the pursuit of equal access to justice for all. The senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black lives, the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color, and continued systemic racism across the country are the most recent reminders […]
Walk in My Shoes: A Day in the Life of a Black Woman Attorney
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacBy Danielle Johnson, Staff Attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services If you approach the steps of the Edward Brooke Courthouse (named after the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction) around 8:45 A.M. on a Thursday morning—colloquially known as “Eviction Thursday” in Boston—there is a seemingly endless line of people, mostly in street […]