Should the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau be unable to assist you with your legal issue, the following organizations offer may offer assistance. These organizations provide an array of services related to:
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- Legal advice and information on the phone;
- Referrals to private lawyers;
- Free civil legal services;
- Access to non-legal support and advocacy;
- Criminal-law and prisoner-related issues; and
- Additional/other human services assistance.
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If you don’t find what you’re looking for below, please call us at 617-495-4408 for assistance related to additional community resources and advice. For information on pro se and self-help, please visit our Self-Help and Pro Se page.
Phone Information and Advice
Legal Advocacy and Resource Center
(617) 371-1234
(617) 603-1700
(617) 603-1815
For phone information/advice, assistance with representing yourself (pro se), and referrals for civil law issues (housing, family, employment, consumer, public benefits, health, estate planning, bankruptcy).
MA Bar Dial-a-Lawyer
(617) 338-0610
Hours: 5:30PM – 7:30PM on the first Wednesday of every month
For answers to basic legal questions and brief legal advice.
Trial Court Law Libraries
(617) 878-0339
(800) 445-8989
For librarian assistance with legal research.
Private Lawyer Referral
National Lawyer’s Guild
(617) 227-7008
Hours: 9:00AM to 4:00PM
30-minute phone consultation at a cost of $15 (sliding scale fee arrangements may be available)
For referrals to private attorneys in most practice areas (including criminal, civil rights, disability, domestic, and employment).
Boston Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
(617) 742-0625
Income-eligible callers get reduced-fee referrals (between $0 and $25 for the first 30-minute consultation)
For referrals to private attorneys for many types of cases.
Middlesex County Bar Association
(617) 494-4150
For free self-help advice and referrals to private lawyers on many types of case.
Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyer Referral Panel
(617) 654-0400
(866) 627-7577
Hours: 9:00AM – 4:45PM
Income-eligible callers get reduced-fee referrals (no more than $75/hour)
For referrals to private attorneys for many types of cases, including contingency fee cases. No phone advice available.
Free Civil Legal Services
Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS)
(617) 371-1234
(617) 603-1700
For representation/advice for family (custodial parents only, pro se divorce clinic), housing (evictions, pro se clinics, some subsidy and shelter issues), public benefits, wage and hour (immigrants only), immigration (political asylum, battered women, unaccompanied minors, language access issues), and tax help.
Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services (CASLS)
(617) 603-1776
(617) 603-2700 (Elder Unit)
For disability rights, special education, benefits, housing (tenants only), and elder issues (benefits, housing, nursing, and protective services issues, guardianship defense, access to health care). Covers Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, and Belmont. Can also take some cases with higher income limits.
Community Legal Services and Counseling Center
(617) 661-1010
For housing (evictions and grievance hearings, pre-Notice to Quit), SSI/SSDI, family (custodial parents or domestic violence victims), immigration (political asylum, battered women, unaccompanied minors), and mediation on a sliding-scale fee basis.
Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP)
(617) 371-1234
(617) 603-1700
(617) 603-1815
For bankruptcy, consumer, family law (no domestic violence emergencies), guardianship of adults, housing (landlords and tenants – tenant intake through LARC), employment, and tort defense.
Disability Law Center
(800) 872-9992
(617) 732-8455
For information, advice, referral, and representation for disability-related civil legal issues (persons with disabilities only, no income limit).
Tenant Advocacy Project (TAP)
(617) 495-4394
For denial or termination of public or subsidized housing, Section 8 termination, and housing grievance hearings.
Wilmer Hale Legal Services Center (LSC)
(617) 522-3003
For bankruptcy, government benefits, employment, evictions (tenants only), family (custodial parents only), small business, and predatory lending.
Small Claims Advisory Services
(617) 497-5690
A public service organization run by Harvard undergraduates that provides free legal information regarding Massachusetts small claims law and procedure (amounts less than $2,000).
Non-Legal Advocacy
Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee (CEOC)
(617) 868-2900
For non-legal advocacy for food stamps, MassHealth, and housing (pre-Notice to Quit, informal conferences, negotiation). Income not mandated by funding. Serves Cambridge and surrounding areas.
Criminal and Prisoner Issues
Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS)
(617) 482-6212
Public defenders.
Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services
(800) 882-1413
(617) 482-2773
Civil Legal Services for Inmates
Harvard Defenders
(617) 495-3127
For show-cause hearings for clients facing upcoming criminal proceedings.
Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project (PLAP)
(617) 878-0339
(800) 445-8989
For legal services for inmates.
Resources for Non-legal Issues
Boston Resource Net
For a database of human services providers searchable by location and practice area.
Human Service Referral Directory of Massachusetts (Yellow Book)
For a directory of human service offices in Massachusetts.