Cases We Take
If you are facing a legal issue, we are here to help you find a solution that works for you. Although we cannot help with every kind of legal problem, Legal Aid Society or our Volunteer Program works to assist with cases like the ones below.
Although we cannot help with every legal problem, Legal Aid Society or our Volunteer Program can assist with cases like the ones listed below.
When you contact Legal Aid Society for help with a housing problem, you will receive resources for help and advice. A lawyer may be able to represent you in the following kinds of cases:
Homeowners
Help may be available for these homeownership problems:
- You are behind or about to be behind on your mortgage payments
- You have received a notice of foreclosure
- You need help getting your mortgage payments lowered
If any of these things are true, click here to see if we can help you.
Renters
If you rent and have problems with a Landlord, we may be able to represent you in the following kinds of cases:
- You are being evicted
- Your Section 8/VASH voucher is being terminated
- You have been turned down for public housing
- You have been turned down for housing because of your criminal record or credit history
- You have been treated differently based on your race, gender, color, religion, disability, what country you’re from, or because you have kids?
- You are disabled and having problems with your housing
- Your landlord locked you out of your apartment or cut off your utilities?
Eviction Help in Davidson County
What is Eviction Right to Counsel?
The Eviction Right to Counsel (ERTC) program provides free legal services and education to households earning low-incomes and facing an eviction in Nashville.
As a two-year pilot program funded by the Metro Nashville City Council, the ERTC program aims to reduce evictions and elevate housing equity in Nashville. The ERTC program’s services range from legal advice to full representation in court.
If you qualify for the ERTC program, call our helpline at (833) 837 – HOME and leave a message about your problem. When leaving a message, include your name, birthdate, and phone number. If you have a court date, please mention that date. We will call you back as soon as possible.
We also have Legal Help Booklets on this website. They may help you with your legal problem.
If you want to talk to a lawyer for advice about your problem, you can come to a Free Legal Help Clinic. Click to see times and dates for legal advice.
You can also go on-line and ask a lawyer a question.
When you contact Legal Aid Society for help with a family or domestic violence problem, the help that we can provide will depend on the kind of problem. We will always help you find some resources for help and advice. We don’t have lawyers to help with every case. But a lawyer from Legal Aid Society or our Volunteer Lawyers Program may be able to represent you in the following kinds of cases:
- You are a being hurt, kicked, pushed, or threatened
- You are being denied access to your money, to transportation or work
- You need a divorce to keep yourself and your children safe
- You need help getting education services for a child
- You need to adopt a child who lives with you
- You need to give someone a power of attorney to make decisions for you
- You need to get a court order to make decisions for an adult child or relative
- You need a will
We also have Legal Help Booklets on this website. They may help you with your legal problem.
If you want to talk to a lawyer for advice about your problem, you can come to a Free Legal Help Clinic. Click to see times and dates for legal advice.
You can also go on-line and ask a lawyer a question.
At Legal Aid Society, we strive to improve the lives of those who have suffered from domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, stalking, or human trafficking. Through the Survivors Immigration Legal Project (SIL Project), Legal Aid Society helps immigrant survivors with legal immigration matters.
Who We Serve
The SIL Project only handles immigration cases for low-income survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking. For help with other immigration cases we suggest reaching out to these other organizations and attorneys (link to other orgs).
What We Do
- Free consultations, advice or legal representation in immigration matters
- Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitions
- U visas for victims of crime
- T visas for victims of human trafficking
- Special immigrant juvenile status
- Battered spouse waivers
- Naturalizations
- Other forms of immigration relief as appropriate
- Provide legal education and outreach to vulnerable communities and partner agencies
- Collaborate with other LAS teams and projects to provide holistic services to immigrant LAS clients
We also have Legal Help Booklets on this website. They may help you with your legal problem.
If you want to talk to a lawyer for advice about your problem, you can come to a Free Legal Help Clinic. Click to see times and dates for legal advice.
You can also go on-line and ask a lawyer a question.
When you contact Legal Aid Society for help with a health problem or to get or keep benefits like TennCare, SNAP or Families First, the help that we can provide will depend on the kind of problem. We will always help you find some resources for help and advice. We don’t have lawyers to help with every case. But a lawyer from Legal Aid Society or our Volunteer Lawyers Program may be able to represent you in the following kinds of cases:
- You need access to health care including TennCare, Medicaid, Medicare or CHOICES
- You need help to pay for a nursing home
- You need help to get home and community based services
- You need help with Social Security or SSI
You need help with Families First or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) - You need help with food stamps or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
- Your child needs help at school (Special Education)
- You need a durable powers of attorney, durable power of attorney for health care and/or a Living Will
- You need a court order to make decisions for someone else
- You need a will
We also have Legal Help Booklets on this website. They may help you with your legal problem.
If you want to talk to a lawyer for advice about your problem, you can come to a Free Legal Help Clinic. Click to see times and dates for legal advice.
You can also go on-line and ask a lawyer a question.
We may be able to help with employment problems.
When you contact Legal Aid Society for help with a work problem, the help that we can provide will depend on the kind of problem. We will always help you find some resources for help and advice. We don’t have lawyers to help with every case. But a lawyer from Legal Aid Society or our Volunteer Lawyers Program may be able to represent you in the following kinds of cases:
- You need help to get a job because you have a criminal background
- You need help to reinstate a driver’s license
- You need help to prevent job termination
- You need help collecting wages
- You need help to get or keep benefits from your job
- You have been treated differently based on race, what country you’re from, sex, color, religion, age, or disability
- You have been denied unemployment compensation benefits
We also have Legal Help Booklets on this website. They may help you with your legal problem.
If you want to talk to a lawyer for advice about your problem, you can come to a Free Legal Help Clinic. Click to see times and dates for legal advice.
You can also go on-line and ask a lawyer a question.
When you contact Legal Aid Society for help with a money problem, the help that we can provide will depend on the kind of problem. We will always help you find some resources for help and advice. We will always help you find some resources for help and advice. We don’t have lawyers to help with every case. But a lawyer from Legal Aid Society or our Volunteer Lawyers Program may be able to represent you in the following kinds of cases:
- You are being cheated by a business in a way that breaks the law
- You need help to stop bill collectors from breaking the law when they try to collect
- You are being sued for a debt
- You have a problem with a title loan, payday loan, check casing loan or other personal loan
- You need help with a car repair
- You need help with a car purchase
- You need help with student loans
- A business has cheated you out of money
- You need a bankruptcy to protect your income or to restore a driver’s license
- Is the IRS holding your tax refund?
- Do you owe the IRS money?
- Are you having problems with the IRS?
We also have Legal Help Booklets on this website. They may help you with your legal problem.
If you want to talk to a lawyer for advice about your problem, you can come to a Free Legal Help Clinic. Click to see times and dates for legal advice.
You can also go on-line and ask a lawyer a question.
Legal Aid Society’s Reentry Services Project
Our mission is to dismantle hurdles that prevent former offenders from contributing positively to their community. Society wants former offenders to engage in gainful employment, to establish stable homes and support their children, to reintegrate into civic and communal life. Yet a record can stop them from obtaining licensure into nursing, admission into the military, approval into rental housing, and can restrict their movement, barring them from good neighborhoods. In order to build thriving communities, we must empower people to go back and impact the lives of others.
Services Offered
Court Debt
We assist clients in tackling financial challenges such as court costs, fines, and fees. These expenses can prevent expungement, driver’s license reinstatement, and rights restoration.
Expungement
Tennessee’s expungement law exists to restore people to the status they held before they came to have a criminal record. Expungement is the legal process of removing eligible criminal cases from publicly available records. There are different processes for dealing with convictions and non-convictions, but we can assist with both.
Driver’s License Restoration
Driver’s licenses are crucial for daily life in Tennessee. We offer help restoring suspended or revoked driver's licenses. We will guide you through addressing your reinstatement requirements.
Certificates of Employability
This service targets enhancing employability for individuals with criminal records. We assist in obtaining these certificates, which can help with job prospects, assist in obtaining professional licensure, and reduce employer liability concerns.
Restoration of Citizenship Rights
Criminal convictions can cause the loss of certain rights that allow a person to participate in the life of their community. We can help restore those lost rights.
Offender-Registry Removal
If you are listed on an offender registry, our team can assess eligibility for removal and help with the process.
We also have Legal Help Booklets on this website. They may help you with your legal problem.
If you want to talk to a lawyer for advice about your problem, you can come to a Free Legal Help Clinic. Click to see times and dates for legal advice.
You can also go on-line and ask a lawyer a question.
Other Ways to Get Help
We also have Legal Help Booklets on this website. They may help you with your legal problem.
If you want to talk to a lawyer for advice about your problem, you can come to a Free Legal Help Clinic. Click to see times and dates for legal advice.
You can also go on-line and ask a lawyer a question.
Important: We only take legal problems and cases that you yourself can’t go to jail for.
If you have a criminal case, you need to call the Public Defender’s office.