‘Fixes’ to evictions expungement bill bring Indiana housing advocates back on board
After making new tweaks, a House committee pushed along a bill that aims to make it easier for renters to get certain evictions sealed from their record.
legal aid
-
At the touch of a finger: Indiana Bar Foundation deploying 120 kiosks to provide civil legal help
As part of an initiative spearheaded by the Indiana Bar Foundation, 120 Indiana Legal Help kiosks are being placed in public locations like courthouses and libraries in all 92 Indiana counties.
Read More -
Prepared for pro bono: Collective pro bono platform to offer free trainings in variety of practice areas
Creating a central location for pro bono attorneys to receive training and resources has been on Dana Luetzelschwab’s brain for a long time. That’s why she pitched the idea to the state bar association: create the Pro Bono Academy and Resource Center.
Read More -
Help wanted: Positions still unfilled as legal aid struggles to find attorneys
Legal aid agencies across the state are struggling to find and hire attorneys to fill full-time staff positions. Providers speculate that lower bar passage rates and high demand for lawyers across the legal profession have created a supply issue.
Read More -
Housing court seeks to find alternatives to eviction
Every Wednesday and Thursday, the docket is filled with landlord-tenant cases. But since October 2021, the Lawrence Township Small Claims Court has been implementing a housing court model that provides additional services to try to prevent or lessen the impact of the loss of a place to live.
Read More
Articles
Bill to change how Indiana civil legal aid funding is distributed advances out of committee
The Indiana House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill Monday that would limit how a legal services provider may use funds from the civil legal aid fund.
Fort Wayne nonprofit offers free expungement presentation
Local attorney Heide Fowler will explain the law, which allows a one-time opportunity for some low-level convictions to be expunged.
‘Above the Line’ looks to boost middle class legal access: New network formed to help find affordable services
The search for free or affordable legal services is not just a problem for the nation’s most impoverished citizens.
NCLC gets $850K in grant funding for reentry, immigration programs
The Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic recently received two financial awards totaling $850,000.
Smith recognized for civil legal aid advocacy at IBF retirement ceremony
For Marilyn Smith, civil legal aid is a personal passion.
Floyd Co. Judge Granger shares how to ‘bring justice’ in civil legal aid speech
Floyd County Judge Maria Granger’s speech at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis kicked off the Indiana Bar Foundation’s 2023 Civil Legal Assistance Conference, which also included continuing legal education events and a reception.
Charitable Allies updates website for expanded access to legal, education resources
Indianapolis-based Charitable Allies unveiled a new website designed to expand charitable organizations’ access to affordable legal services and educational resources for nonprofit professionals.
IN Bar Foundation awards $3.6M in legal aid grants as LSC warns House proposal would have ‘devastating impact’ on legal aid
The Indiana Bar Foundation announced it has awarded $3.6 million for civil legal services to 13 organizations.
Costs often vary for divorce cases: Some file pro se, others seek legal aid or private attorneys
There’s an emotional cost that comes with a divorce, but the process also involves dollars and cents.
Notre Dame Law grads working on housing issues, expungement relief through public interest fellowships
Two 2023 Notre Dame Law School graduates are beginning their post-grad careers as Thomas L. Shaffer Public Interest fellows, addressing housing issues and providing expungement relief in Chicago and rural Kentucky.
Helping the self-represented: Growing number of counties offering self-help centers for pro se litigants
A growing number of Indiana counties are finding ways to connect pro se litigants with legal assistance.
IN Supreme Court announces new Coalition for Court Access appointments
The Indiana Supreme Court has appointed several new members to the Coalition for Court Access.
Allied legal professionals slowly gaining foothold in legal community: Advocates say limited license nonlawyers beneficial to middle class
Utah is one of just four states that allow nonlawyers to obtain limited licenses to provide legal advice and counsel.
Nonlawyers part of access to justice solution for pro se litigants
Having watched people become intimidated and fearful as they try to represent themselves in court while struggling to understand legal system, Leigh Carpenter jumped at the chance to join what she sees as providing much-needed help.
Legal aid receives major funding increase from Congress
Legal Services Corp., which supports legal aid organizations around the country including Indiana Legal Services, has received a $560 million appropriation from Congress — a 14.5% increase over last year’s $489 million and the largest percentage boost in funding since 1979.
ILS launches risk detection service: Tool aims to help more endangered seniors get help
If the pilot run was any indication, a new tool used by Indiana Legal Service’s Legal Assistance for Victimized Adults, or LAVA, Project could help more endangered and victimized Hoosier adults obtain legal assistance.
ILAS sets campaign goal of $300,000 to help serve indigent clients
The Indianapolis Legal Aid Society is hoping that as legal professionals make their year-end donations, they will remember to contribute to “the law firm for the poor.”
Legal help kiosks being deployed across state to aid households facing eviction, foreclosure
At the Lawrence Township trustee’s office Tuesday afternoon, court officials and community leaders unveiled the first of 120 civil legal help kiosks that will be deployed to individuals trying to navigate the legal system themselves.
More than $2.5M awarded to Indiana legal aid providers
Legal aid providers around the state that offer civil legal assistance to low-income Hoosiers have received a financial boost totaling more than $2.5 million from the Indiana Bar Foundation.