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WHERE
TO GO FOR LEGAL ADVICE IN THE CLEVELAND AREA
The Law Library staff can assist you in locating and using the legal materials in our library. However, we cannot give legal opinions or advice. If you need legal advice or help in finding an attorney, the following organizations may be able to help you. Cleveland Bar
Association The
CBA's Lawyer
Referral Service serves as a bridge between the public
and the legal community by assisting persons who have legal questions
or need legal advice but do not know where to turn for a lawyer. Referrals
can be made based on legal specialties or geography. Call between the
hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, to speak to a
trained staff member. Once the staff member determines the nature of
the legal problem, you will be provided with a name and number of a
lawyer qualified to handle the problem: you may contact the lawyer for
a free consultation.
ACLU of Ohio
Foundation Provides
legal services to protect individuals' constitutional rights. Will defend
the injured party in court if the dispute cannot otherwise be settled.
Serves to protect, defend, expand constitutional rights and civil liberties
by litigation, legislative action, and public education. If you need
legal assistance, send a one page letter describing the
situation along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to the above
listed address. You will be contacted if the American Civil Liberties
Union can help. The Legal Aid
Society of Cleveland Assistance is free for those who qualify for the Society's services. Areas of law include: housing, consumer, employment, education, social security, benefits, family, immigration, income tax, and older persons. If you need help: You can come to one of the offices between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in the morning and 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon without an appointment on any week day. You can also call to begin the new client intake process. Once you arrive at the office or call, Legal Aid will determine if you are financially eligible for the services and if your case is the type of case they handle. Be sure to bring all of the papers you have about your legal problem. Then Legal Aid will either give you advice, schedule an appointment, or refer you to a volunteer attorney. If you are an older person who lives in Cuyahoga County, you can call the Senior Helpline at 216-861-5479 to schedule an appointment to meet an attorney at the Legal Aid office or at a Senior Citizen Center if you qualify for Legal Aid's services and have a legal problem they can handle. The Downtown office handles the bulk of the Society's caseload in Cuyahoga County. An office in Painesville serves Lake and Geauga Counties, one in Elyria covers Lorain County, and one in Jefferson covers Ashtabula County. For office addresses and phone numbers, click here. Cuyahoga County
Bar Association The Lawyer Referral and Information Service provides referrals to Cuyahoga County residents looking for an attorney. Persons in need of legal counsel can use the request form on the CCBA website or call the office at 216-621-2414, providing contact information and a brief description of the situation. The Lawyer Referral Staff member will determine the appropriate type of attorney needed and offer an attorney's name and phone number. If and when a meeting between the referent and attorney occur, a charge of $30 will be collected by the attorney on behalf of the Lawyer Referral & Information Service. Social Security, Worker’s Compensation, Bankruptcy, and Personal Injury matters are exempt from the $30 referral charge . The referral system allows up to three referrals to each resident per situation. You may get another referral after waiting two business days. Hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. No walk-ins. Phone mail system is available. Housing Advocates,
Inc. Housing Advocates is a not-for-profit tax exempt corporation designated as a public interest law firm by the IRS. It operates a Housing Law Clinic as a joint program with Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Intake process requires person to call and leave detailed message about the problem. Someone from HAI will return your call. No walk-in assistance. Handles housing discrimination cases in both state and federal court, and agencies. They do not assist with landlord tenant disputes. If HAI cannot handle the case, they try to make referrals when possible. Their fees are based on the client's ability to pay. Witness/Victim
Service Center of Cuyahoga County, Justice Center The Witness/Victims Service Center seeks to promote and preserve the rights of crime victims. Services provided include criminal justice and juvenile court system advocacy, community referrals (including attorneys), counseling, assistance with applications for victims of crime compensation, and bilingual services for Spanish-speaking individuals. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Cleveland State
University The clinic handles cases involving unfair treatment of an employee as a result of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, national origin, handicap or some other prohibited basis as well as some other employment law issues. The clinic utilizes upper level law students to assist with a variety or employment issues. They do have a limited amount of intake of cases. Employees who feel that they have been subjected to unfair treatment can call the Clinic to speak to the office manager who will then review and determine if a student should interview. The caller may then be advised of his/her options, represented in the matter before administrative agencies and/or courts, or referred if possible depending on the situation. Case
Western Reserve University
NO LEGAL ADVICE IS GIVEN OVER THE PHONE. IF A PERSON REQUESTING ADVICE IS ELIGIBLE FOR OUR SERVICES THE NAME WILL BE PLACED ON OUR WAITING LIST AND PERSON IS CALLED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO COME INTO THE OFFICE FOR COUNSELING. SERVICES PROVIDED: The Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic Center at Case School of Law offers free legal assistance to persons who meet minimum incomes guidelines with certain types of legal problems.. Some of the legal problems the clinic handles are: criminal misdemeanor cases in Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, consumer home repair and predatory lending, social security disability and health insurance claims and assistance to non-profit groups and organizations as well as certain small businesses in organizational and ongoing legal matters. They do not handle criminal felony cases, appeals, and cases where you are unlikely to need a lawyer (small claims court) or cases where you can find a lawyer to help you without requiring a fee in advance (fee generating cases where you are trying to recover money). ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: All persons in Cuyahoga County of any age or race are eligible if they are within the income guidelines. FEES: No legal fee is charged. Filing and court costs must be paid by the client. REFERRAL REQUIREMENTS: Call the clinic and talk to the intake person. There is usually a waiting list. Potential clients are placed on the list and called as soon as possible. All appointments are made by phone. No walk-in appointments are accepted. Cleveland
Homeless Legal Assistance Program In association with the Cleveland Bar Association, CHLAP has implemented a legal service project to aid homeless and impoverished people. Services are for those who are: homeless, were homeless in the last 2 yrs., living in a shelter or state sponsored facility, at risk of being evicted or in the process of being evicted. Intake process occurs over the phone, and a referral is provided for an attorney who will handle the case free of charge. Also, there are legal clinics at 5 or 6 sites around the area where people may go to get help from an attorney who will be present to answer questions. CHLAP handles housing, criminal, domestic, credit, and social security types of cases. Cleveland
Tenants Organization CTO provides information about the Ohio landlord and tenant laws to both Landlords and tenants in Cleveland. They will answer questions over the phone according to the laws of Ohio. Referrals are also made if a person has a question the CTO staff cannot answer. Intake process requires you to call for assistance. No walk-ins. Call Eviction Diversion Program for a referral to legal services: 621-1570 JRN rev. 5/2005 |