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.
News by Category
MLAC in the News
Legal Aid Organizations in the News
Press Releases
Three hour wait, three days in a row: Massachusetts shelter hotline leaves some families desperate (WBUR)
A Nov. 22 WBUR article quoted Greater Boston Legal Services attorney Liz Alfred on the difficulties families face accessing the Massachusetts family shelter system. Alfred helped a mother—recently-evicted and a survivor of domestic violence—and her child find a room at a state-run shelter, and commented on the conditions that make the system challenging to navigate. […]
‘I’m at my wit’s end’: Welcome to the underbelly of the region’s housing crisis (The Boston Globe)
Attorneys Zoe Cronin of Greater Boston Legal Services and Rochelle Jones of the Volunteer Lawyers Project, both pictured above, were featured in a Nov. 12 Boston Globe article for their work representing people in housing court in the aftermath of COVID eviction moratoria expiring. An excerpt of the article is below. — Criminal court proceedings […]
MLRI class action lawsuit seeks to restore stolen SNAP food benefits (Various outlets)
CommonWealth Magazine, WWLP, and CBS News recently reported on a class action lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute against the Department of Transitional Assistance that would require the state to pay food benefit recipients back aid money stolen through “skimming.” “Skimming” is a technique by which criminals attach a device to a point-of-sale […]
Energy prices are skyrocketing. Here’s how you can get financial help this winter (WBUR)
A Nov. 3 WBUR article quoted Charlie Harak (pictured above), a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, who lent his guidance on applying for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). An excerpt from the article is below. — Most fuel assistance in Massachusetts comes from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance […]
For labor trafficked immigrants, T-visas are a life-saving but flawed relief (GBH News)
Two legal aid attorneys—Caddie Nath-Folsom of the Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts, a subsidiary of South Coastal Counties Legal Services, and Audrey Richardson of Greater Boston Legal Services—were quoted in an Oct. 24 GBH News article about barriers labor trafficked immigrants face to obtaining T-visas. These visas are a pathway to legal residency for survivors of severe trafficking who cooperate with an investigation […]
Interview: SNAP benefit increase is helping those in need. Is it enough? (GBH News)
Patricia Baker (pictured above), a senior policy analyst at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, spoke with GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath on Oct. 20 about the gaps that federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients still face, despite a recent increase in monthly benefits. Below is an excerpt from the interview. — Rath: And the cost […]
Blind and low-vision voters hail Massachusetts’ new statewide online voting option (GBH News)
This year, Massachusetts became the fourth state in the nation to enact a new electronic voting system for people with disabilities, as a provision of the VOTES Act passed in June. This milestone stems from a 2020 lawsuit filed by the Disability Law Center, as reported by GBH News in an Oct. 28 article. An […]
SCCLS assists tenants facing eviction from New Bedford building (The New Bedford Light and South Coast Today)
South Coastal Counties Legal Services (SCCLS), along with other local agencies and nonprofits, has provided legal information and assistance to New Bedford tenants facing eviction by their apartment complex’s new owner and given little time to move. 189-193 Elm Street’s new owner, TI Partners, sent letters to dozens of tenants giving them one month to […]