The Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the country’s single largest funder of civil legal aid, marked its 40th anniversary July 25 and is planning a three-day event Sept. 14-15 in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the milestone.
Established in 1974 with ABA support to help meet the legal needs of the nation’s poor, LSC provides grants through a competitive process to 134 independent local legal services organizations. These organizations, with 800 offices nationwide, serve individuals in every congressional district in the United States and its territories.
“The ABA applauds the work done by the LSC,” then ABA President James R. Silkenat said in a statement issued July 25. “LSC grantees assist 2.3 million Americans annually, including veterans, domestic violence victims, those coping with the after-effects of natural disasters, and individuals undergoing foreclosure or other housing issues,” he said.
Silkenat noted that the demand for LSC services is at an all-time high, with 63.5 million Americans, including more than 22 million children, currently eligible for services and 67 million Americans expected to be eligible in 2015. He called on Congress to increase LSC funding so that more Americans may be served. The program’s current appropriation is $365 million.
“The ABA strongly believes that everyone should have access to justice and representation in our legal system. The LSC helps achieve that goal,” Silkenat said.