De Novo is new name for CLSACC

Community Legal Services and Counseling Center (CLSACC) in Cambridge has changed its name to De Novo.

Founded in 1970 as Cambridgeport Problem Center and later Community Legal Services and Counseling Center, De Novo has grown from a small group of dedicated volunteers with a vision to serve low-income Cambridge residents to a larger community of staff, volunteers, community partners and donors supporting counseling and legal aid programs throughout Greater Boston and, for immigrant and refugee clients, statewide.

“Along with that growth came both opportunities and challenges,” including the organization’s name, said Mojdeh Rohani, De Novo’s executive director. “As we gained more exposure, Community Legal Services and Counseling Center or ‘classic’ as it was affectionately pronounced, did not truly capture our identity and mission.

“Our renaming is an opportunity for us to better communicate who we are, how our model works and more clearly convey the tremendous potential that legal assistance and counseling can have in the lives of our community members,” she said.

De Novo’s announcement stressed that it will continue to provide free legal assistance and affordable psychological counseling to low-income people, and the name change does not affect its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.