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.
Report: Trump’s immigration policies a local threat
/in Blog, News Coverage - Archives, News Coverage - Current /by mlacThe Trump administration’s ever-tightening immigration rules are putting the lives and livelihoods of thousands of local residents in danger and threatening the social cohesion and economic well-being of local communities, according to a new report by the Boston Foundation and the Greater Boston Immigrant Defense Fund. More than 12,000 Massachusetts residents with Temporary Protected Status […]
Community Legal Aid to Celebrate Opening of New Fitchburg Office
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacCommunity Legal Aid is opening of a new office at 515 Main Street in Fitchburg. With this new office, CLA aims to increase access to vital legal assistance for residents of Fitchburg, Leominster and the other communities of North Central Mass. CLA is the non-profit civil legal aid program providing free civil (non-criminal) legal help […]
‘Our children are going to benefit from this’
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacA group of advocates waited outside of the Senate Chamber as lawmakers met in formal session. Some sat on chairs and chatted with companions, while others walked back and forth in the hall, sometimes peeking through the door seam with expectant eyes. One hour later, Deborah Harris of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and Sen. […]
Massachusetts SJC rules employees at Chang & Sons farm in Whately are entitled to overtime
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacThe state’s highest court on Friday reversed a lower-court ruling and decided that employees at a Franklin County farm are entitled to be paid overtime because the work they performed at the farm was not the same as farming. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Friday ruled in favor of the 15 plaintiffs in the […]
Suit alleges bias in civil commitments for addiction
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacTen men who have been ordered into treatment for addiction filed suit Thursday against several state agencies, alleging that they are unlawfully being held in a prison instead of a treatment facility. The men are represented by Prisoners’ Legal Services. Read more…
More families, elders have no place to call home
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacRising rents and stagnant wages have families and older residents struggling to remain in their homes. Of the state’s 20,068 homeless individuals, 13,257 were people in families with children. Read more…
Medford musician fights eviction from home of 70 years
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacThe trouble began after Joe Lentino took a reverse mortgage in 2007 to get out from under his debt. Then he lost some gigs playing in jazz bands. And he started missing tax payments on the modest white house where he’s lived for about 70 years. Read more…
As rents soar in Boston, low-income tenants try to stave off eviction
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - Current /by mlacThe Thursday vibe at the sprawling Edward W. Brooke Courthouse on New Chardon Street in downtown Boston has a jittery, jagged edge to it. Thursday is trial day for eviction cases at Eastern Housing Court, where landlords and tenants from Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, and eight other cities and towns square off. The busy hallway outside […]