Funding for Legal Aid – IRP Poverty Dispatch

Need is up, but funding plummets for legal aid, By Mary Pat Flaherty, December 7, 2009, Washington Post: “For accountant Jose Burgos, who was laid off in October, the free legal advice he’s received in Montgomery County could make the difference in whether his family keeps its Silver Spring condominium. For the legal staff, Burgos, 41, is one more complicated bankruptcy consultation in a year of many — and that is where the stress hits. At the very time that more newly poor people need help with the likes of mortgages, rent disputes and battles over wages, clinics across the country that help with noncriminal cases are enduring sharp funding drops…”
Report: Insufficient funding for legal aid, By Scott Daugherty, December 7, 2009, The Capital: “The weak economy is cutting into a vital source of funding for legal aid in Maryland, leaving many area residents without any help to navigate the courts in civil matters, according to a state panel. A report released last month by the Maryland Access to Justice Commission found the Interest On Lawyers Trust Accounts program, which historically provided about half of the state’s funding for legal aid, is generating about 70 percent less revenue than it did two years ago. The program, which diverts interest from many attorney-held bank accounts, is expected to pull in about $2 million this fiscal year, down from $6.7 million two years ago…”