Volunteer Lawyers Program

VLP cannot guarantee that it will be able to help you on your case.  However, VLP will consider finding volunteer lawyers for clients needing assistance in the following areas:

• Wills
• Powers of Attorney
• Conservatorships
• Orders of Protection
• Adoptions
• Tax Issues
• Consumer and Debt Collection Defense
• Chapter 7 Bankruptcies
• Name Changes

At LAS, we are only able to work on civil legal issues with low-income clients in middle Tennessee. To be eligible for volunteer assistance, you must satisfy all of these requirements:

• You must live in one of the 48 counties in our service area in middle Tennessee.
• Excluding your primary residence and primary vehicle, your assets must be worth less than $10,000.
• You must be a United States citizen or have lawful residency status in the United States.
• Your income must be below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines.

Please call LAS if you have questions about whether you are eligible.

Within 3 business days from your initial call to Legal Aid, a VLP staff member will contact you directly to perform what LAS calls an “intake.”

During an intake, our staff member will ask you questions about your legal issue and background, including things like your income, expenses, and demographic information. LAS is required to collect this information so it can decide whether to accept your legal matter and whether you are eligible for LAS. LAS keeps all information confidential.

Staff from the Volunteer Lawyers Program meet to discuss the legal matters and potential clients that were referred to them during the previous week. At that meeting, VLP staff decide whether they are able to provide assistance.

• If your case is accepted, LAS will send you paperwork to sign and return. At that point, LAS will work to find a volunteer lawyer to assist you.
• If your cases is rejected, LAS will send you a letter providing a list of resources and referrals so that you can pursue help elsewhere.

Because we rely on volunteers, we cannot promise that an attorney will be able to help you with your legal matter. Wait times also depend on the number of people seeking assistance, the types of cases they have, and the number of volunteers we have available. If your case has been accepted by VLP and you have been waiting for help, please contact VLP directly with any questions.

VLP has a small staff. We depend on volunteers to help us assist the hundreds of people who call VLP every year. If we do not have enough volunteers, it may mean that you will have to wait longer than you expected.

Go to our Calendar and pre-register for the clinic that you’d like to attend. You will receive an intake form to complete and return to us before the clinic. If you are eligible for our services, we will then let you know before the clinic date.

If you do not complete an intake form before the clinic, you are still welcome to attend the clinic and complete an intake form in-person. However, we cannot guarantee that you will be able to speak with an attorney that day.

At a typical legal clinic, you can expect to receive a free, private consultation directly with a volunteer lawyer. During that consultation, you will be able to explain your legal issues to the lawyer and receive advice from the lawyer about how to proceed next.

Normally, we attempt to see individuals in the order they arrive. However, we may have to take people out of order if:

• The person requires a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• The person needs to meet with an attorney who has special expertise, and that attorney is only available for a limited time.
• The person’s case is urgent, and he or she must file a document that day.

You should complete our intake form to the best of your ability before you attend a clinic. That way, we can work to ensure that we have the best available volunteer lawyer there to assist you. Please bring to the clinic any paperwork that you would like the lawyer to review. Please also bring any background materials that you think would help the lawyer give you the best possible legal advice.

All VLP clients receive feedback forms at the conclusion of their matter. Please review these forms and let us know of any positive or negative comments about the services you received. We review all feedback to see how we can improve.