About MichiganLegalAid.org

MichiganLegalAid.org is a statewide guide to free legal services for low-income persons and seniors in civil (non-criminal) cases. Here you can locate information on all of the free civil legal aid programs, including basic eligibility and contact information. We also have links to related sites on the web, and legal education documents that give you basic information on a number of common legal problems.

This guide is a free service which is made possible through the generosity of the Michigan State Bar Foundation and federal Legal Services Corporation. The web site was created by Kaivo and is maintained by staff at the Michigan Poverty Law Program.

Michigan State Bar Foundation

The Michigan State Bar Foundation was established in 1947 in recognition of the legal profession's responsibilities to the public. Since then, the Foundation has made more than $42 million in grants to support civil legal aid to the poor and improve the administration of justice in Michigan. The Foundation receives funds for its grant programs from a variety of public and private sources, including private contributions to the Access to Justice Campaign and the Fellows of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.

Michigan Poverty Law Program

The Michigan Poverty Law Program (MPLP) is a cooperative effort of Legal Services of South Central Michigan and the University of Michigan Law School. The program's goals are: to support the advocacy of field programs; to coordinate advocacy for the poor among the local programs; and to assure that a full range of advocacy continues on behalf of the poor.

MPLP provides state support services to legal services programs and other poverty law advocates throughout Michigan. MPLP staff work directly with local advocates through regular task force meetings that respond to locally-identified training needs; through frequent publications alerting advocates to legal developments; and through open access to case consultation, co-counseling, or referral for local advocates.