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What Non-English Speakers Should Know About Court Interpreters | COMMENTARY

June 26, 2024 Comments Off on What Non-English Speakers Should Know About Court Interpreters | COMMENTARY

Contributed commentary by Patricia Jones, managing attorney, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands’ Columbia office. Receiving a notice to appear in court can be a stressful experience for anyone, but even more so for those who aren’t…

Legal Aid Lawyer Receives Lifetime Achievement Distinction

June 26, 2024 Comments Off on Legal Aid Lawyer Receives Lifetime Achievement Distinction

The Nashville Business Journal has awarded its 2024 Lifetime Achievement distinction to Nashville lawyer David Tarpley, the lead attorney for housing and consumer law at Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. Tarpley graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in…

How the Legal Aid Society Helps Low-Income Taxpayers

June 26, 2024 Comments Off on How the Legal Aid Society Helps Low-Income Taxpayers

“The biggest anti-poverty government subsidy is not welfare or Aid for Families with Dependent Children,” said a recent speaker to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. “It’s the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC),” which is embedded in the federal income…

From Slavery to Silence: Felony Disenfranchisement’s Impact on African Americans

June 18, 2024 Comments Off on From Slavery to Silence: Felony Disenfranchisement’s Impact on African Americans

Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas finally learned of their freedom, a full two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. This day stands as a powerful symbol of liberation and a…

Rental Agreements Often Leave Nashville Renters with Few Options

May 30, 2024 Comments Off on Rental Agreements Often Leave Nashville Renters with Few Options

Class action and jury trial waivers in leases create roadblocks for tenants who want to sue their landlords When Mark Finlay opened his email to sign the lease to his one-bedroom apartment in 2019, a one-page addendum at the end…

If Tennessee landlord doesn’t fix problems, you can’t afford to sue them or move, what are you supposed to do?

May 30, 2024 Comments Off on If Tennessee landlord doesn’t fix problems, you can’t afford to sue them or move, what are you supposed to do?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — We hear from people almost everyday who are at their wits’ end with their landlords. A lot of people contact us saying their property manager isn’t making necessary repairs and therefore they feel at-risk. We took…

Legal Aid Society Breakfast of Champions

May 30, 2024 Comments Off on Legal Aid Society Breakfast of Champions

Nashville-based nonprofit Legal Aid Society held its annual fundraising breakfast at City Winery on April 17. The organization raised $180,000, according to a press release, with Mayor Freddie O’Connell having spoken at the event. The funding will go toward Campaign…

Legal Aid Society Seeks Support in Washington, D.C.,for Middle Tennessee Residents’ Civil Legal Needs

May 30, 2024 Comments Off on Legal Aid Society Seeks Support in Washington, D.C.,for Middle Tennessee Residents’ Civil Legal Needs

Representatives from three Tennessee legal nonprofits visited Washington, D.C., in early April to discuss the importance of constituent access to the legal system on issues like fair housing, veterans’ benefits, domestic violence and burdensome medical debt in Middle Tennessee. Legal…

Legal Aid Society employees to speak to League in Oak Ridge May 7

May 30, 2024 Comments Off on Legal Aid Society employees to speak to League in Oak Ridge May 7

Two members of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will be the speakers at the May 7 Lunch With the League meeting. The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge welcomes the community to Lunch With the League from 11:30…

Mayor Freddie O’Connell details priorities in first State of Metro address

May 30, 2024 Comments Off on Mayor Freddie O’Connell details priorities in first State of Metro address

More than 500 Nashvillians joined Mayor Freddie O’Connell at the Nashville Fairgrounds for his first State of Metro speech in which O’Connell detailed a path toward a more connected, affordable city with a local government that feels like a partner…

Nashville’s Eviction Right to Counsel program paid off, study finds

April 13, 2026 Comments Off on Nashville’s Eviction Right to Counsel program paid off, study finds

An independent evaluation by Stout shows Davidson County’s Eviction Right to Counsel pilot helped 1,069 tenants in 2025, generating $4.3 million in public fiscal benefits and keeping hundreds of families from homelessness. Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee April 13,…

Legal Aid and Nashville Law Firm Bass Berry + Sims Team up to Support Community in 37210

October 24, 2025 Comments Off on Legal Aid and Nashville Law Firm Bass Berry + Sims Team up to Support Community in 37210

The initiative is aimed at expanding legal support and community investment in South Nashville’s Napier-Sudekum neighborhood and the surrounding 37210 zip code. 

Criminal Record Holding You Back? These People Can Help.

June 26, 2025 Comments Off on Criminal Record Holding You Back? These People Can Help.

Legal Aid Society helps give individuals second chances.

Legal Aid Society’s program helps Nashville tenants fight eviction amid rising costs

June 26, 2025 Comments Off on Legal Aid Society’s program helps Nashville tenants fight eviction amid rising costs

Eviction Right to Counsel program helps prevent evictions.

Legal Aid Society releases groundbreaking report on Metro Nashville’s highly successful Eviction Right to Counsel (ERTC) pilot project.

March 20, 2025 Comments Off on Legal Aid Society releases groundbreaking report on Metro Nashville’s highly successful Eviction Right to Counsel (ERTC) pilot project.

Throughout the pilot phase of ERTC, Legal Aid and the Nashville Hispanic Bar Association (Hispanic Bar), as the lead legal services organizations, have worked in partnership with several other nonprofits, including Conexión Américas, the American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC), the…

Can Tech Simplify Pro Bono?

December 19, 2024 Comments Off on Can Tech Simplify Pro Bono?

Legal experts share the impactful tech projects they have contributed to, and the struggles and successes of getting volunteer lawyers to engage with tech tools on Talk Justice. Oswald’s project at Legal Aid Society uses automation and AI to handle…

Eviction Notices Raise Questions About Metro Support for Affordable Housing

August 19, 2024 Comments Off on Eviction Notices Raise Questions About Metro Support for Affordable Housing

Hobson Flats, a complex in Antioch run by Elmington Property Group, is classified as affordable housing. Despite this designation, it’s now facing serious allegations. Local advocacy organizations Poder Popular and Tennessee Student Solidarity Network recently claimed that Elmington has evicted…

State law offers families needed relief from school feesState law offers families need relief from school fees

August 19, 2024 Comments Off on State law offers families needed relief from school feesState law offers families need relief from school fees

As the academic year gets underway this month across Middle Tennessee, many parents are getting an uncomfortable reminder of the many expenses that come along with having school-aged children. Clothes. Bookbags. Textbooks. Band instruments. The list goes on and on.…

Cooling Centers are Scarce Amid Nashville’s Summer Heat

June 26, 2024 Comments Off on Cooling Centers are Scarce Amid Nashville’s Summer Heat

The 120-year-old building on the corner of Meridian Street and East Trinity Lane has transformed into a nonprofit where everyone who enters through its doors is called “neighbor.” That includes the Piggly Wiggly employee who sleeps outside, to the woman…

Democracy, The Justice Gap, and Preserving the Rule of Law

June 26, 2024 Comments Off on Democracy, The Justice Gap, and Preserving the Rule of Law

Written By DarKenya W. Waller, Executive Director of Legal Aid Society of Middle TN and the Cumberlands, and Eric G. Osborne, a partner at Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison PLC. What if we told you that for just $200 a…