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.
Letter: State measure goes too far in its provisions for de facto parents
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - CurrentLaura W. Gal, managing attorney for family law, Greater Boston Legal Services; Heather Gamache, president, Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts; Anna S. Richardson, co-executive director, Veterans Legal Services and Jamie A. Sabino, staff attorney, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, responded on Monday in a letter to The Boston Globe regarding the paper’s editorial, “For LGBTQ parents, […]
New rule allows debt collectors to contact you on social media
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - CurrentApril Kuehnhoff, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, was quoted in a December 2 NBC Boston article about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new Debt Collection Rule, which gives debt collectors more ways to contact borrowers about unpaid debts. The Debt Collection Rule allows third-party debt collectors to message people on social […]
Eviction filings down from pre-pandemic years in region, but need for services still great
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - CurrentEviction services are the largest area of practice for Community Legal Aid in Worcester’s casework and the organization’s eviction team said the additional funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will help them carry out eviction protection services when funding from a state program ends at the start of the new year. Housing […]
In win for residents with disabilities, Boston must upgrade curb ramps
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - CurrentTom Murphy, a supervising attorney at the Disability Law Center, was quoted in a Nov. 24 WBUR article. A long-running civil rights movement has won a huge but quiet victory in Boston. It’ll mean millions of dollars in spending, and construction projects across the city — including in Jamaica Plain, where Michael Muehe has lived […]
Law meant to clear old convictions, including for marijuana possession, helps few
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - CurrentPauline Quirion, the lead attorney for Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS), was quoted in a Nov. 28 Boston Globe article about a case the organization is bringing to the Supreme Judicial Court to appeal the expungement of old cannabis charges. When state legislators passed a criminal justice reform bill in 2018, Massachusetts residents won the […]
Beyond ‘Thank you for your service’
/in Blog, Program News - Archives, Program News - CurrentDaniel Bahls, a staff attorney at Community Legal Aid, wrote a recent op-ed in The Greenfield Recorder about the challenges veterans face, including legal needs. “As we celebrate our veterans on Veterans Day, we must also acknowledge what we, as their country and their community, can do better to honor their sacrifices. While our region’s […]
MLAC seeks ARPA funding for Civil Legal Aid
/in Blog, News Coverage - Archives, News Coverage - CurrentThe Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation seeks Senate inclusion of $18.2m in American Rescue Plan Act funding for four legal initiatives to remedy problems that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated for low-income people across the Commonwealth. Please ask your senator to co-sponsor Sen. DiDomenico’s MLAC Amendment #257! The Housing and Eviction Representation proposal would continue to […]
Letter: Civil legal aid goes to heart of what rescue plan is intended for
/in Blog, News Coverage - Archives, News Coverage - CurrentWriting in The Boston Globe, MLAC Executive Director Lynne Parker and Board Chair Mala Rafik make the case for using ARPA to fund civil legal aid initiatives to aid COVID recovery: Civil legal aid goes to heart of what rescue plan is intended for The editorial board wisely recognizes the opportunity that the American Rescue […]