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#Legal Aid of NC Offices

LANC-Charlotte Office

1431 Elizabeth Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28204-2506 MAP

704-971-2621; 1-800-738-3868 (toll-free; for clients only)

About Charlotte, NC.

The staff of Legal Aid of North Carolina - Charlotte Office provides legal assistance in civil matters (non-criminal matters) to eligible, low-income clients who have problems with their basic needs and live in the area surrounding Mecklenburg County .

[Contact our PAI Coordinator for the LANC-Charlotte Office.]

To volunteer pro bono service in the counties served by the LANC-Charlotte Office, contact our PAI ( Private Attorney Involvement ) coordinator .

In July 2002, Legal Aid of North Carolina opened its Charlotte office as the result of a consolidation of the four, federally funded (LSC-funded), legal services programs in North Carolina, including part of the staff of the Legal Services of Southern Piedmont (LSSP) * .

Free legal services for low-income persons has existed in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg area since 1967:

• 1966 - Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) began issuance of federal grants for civil legal assistance to poor as a part of the US Government s War on Poverty.

1967 - The Mecklenburg County Bar and Charlotte Area Fund established the Mecklenburg County Legal Aid Society with OEO and local matching funds.

September 1, 1967 - Legal Aid Society began operation with three attorneys and two secretaries.

1967-75 - Legal Aid Society grew with increased OEO funding.

1975 - OEO Legal Services Program (and funding) was transferred to the new Legal Services Corporation (LSC).

1979 - Legal Aid Society changed its name to Legal Services of Southern Piedmont (LSSP) .

1996 - Congress imposed stronger restrictions on LSC-funded organizations, prohibiting certain types of advocacy.

1999 - Legal services programs in North Carolina created the Legal Services Planning Council ( Planning Council ) to coordinate a comprehensive, integrated, statewide system legal services to poor, guided by a vision of a full range of services to a full range of clients.

February 2001 - The Planning Council adopted a plan to restructure the legal services/legal aid system in North Carolina, including the formation of Legal Aid of North Carolina.

July 1, 2002 - Legal Aid of North Carolina (and its Charlotte office) began full operation as the statewide, LSC-funded, legal aid program in North Carolina, operating in all 100 counties through 24 geographically based offices .

* Note: Legal Services of Southern Piedmont (LSSP) (Charlotte) continues to provide legal services for low-income persons, but as a non-LSC ( unrestricted ) program that focuses on legal services that Legal Aid of North Carolina is not permitted to provide.

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