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Home > Finding Legal Help

Finding Legal Help

Finding Legal Help

This website has been designed especially to help low-income service members, veterans and their families.  For that reason, we focus on legal services that are available free of charge.

We have indexed the three largest networks of free legal aid serving servicemembers, veterans and their families.  Although there are not enough free legal services to help everyone, you may be able to find a free lawyer or advocate here.  See the box below about how to search our data base to find the relevant legal help resources in your state. 

To find a relevant free legal services office in your state, use our "smart search":

  1. Click on the red "About You" button above.
  2. Answer a few simple questions.
  3. Enter a search term in the blue search box above (for example, disability, discharge status, divorce, or eviction).

Then let our "smart search" do its work.  For many common searches, the "helpful organizations" tab on your search results will list free legal agencies that may be able to help with your problem.

Or you can find many of the same free services by following these links:

  • For military legal assistance services, use the Armed Forces Legal Services Locator to find a JAG office or civilian legal assistance officer for any branch of the service anywhere in the continental U.S.  These lawyers specialize in deployment-related issues. They also help activated Reserve and National Guard members. However, they can help with only certain legal issues and only people in certain categories of current military service. Some require in-person requests; others will provide assistance over the phone.
  • For general legal aid help, every State has one or more organizations that provide free legal services for people with low incomes. These programs are funded by the Legal Services Corporation. Many military and veteran families qualify for this assistance.  These legal aid offices prioritize housing, family, consumer and public benefits issues. They generally limit their services to people with household incomes below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. Some offices do have special programs that have no income guidelines (for example, legal help to victims of domestic violence or dealing with the IRS).  Legal aid programs generally screen callers to determine income eligibility. Some offer help online.
  • For VA-related issues, Veterans Service Organizations generally focus on benefits available through the Veterans Administration, although they may also help with State VA benefits.  State Veteran's Affairs offices provide similar help. These offices have non-lawyer advocates who help with disability and other VA-related claims.  There are also nonprofit and/or membership organizations that provide this help.

In general, these legal and advocacy services are free if you meet the eligibility requirement for the specific program. 

Can't find an advocate or lawyer near you? Go back up the page and follow the 3-step "smart search" instructions. More free legal help projects around the country are indexed there.

Other important legal help programs

The GI Rights Hotline (877-447-4487) uses trained civilian counselors to provide counseling and information on military discharges, AWOL and UA, and GI Rights. It includes both a national program and local hotline branches around the country.

A growing number of law schools, state bar associations and legal aid programs are adding free legal clinics focused on the needs of service members or veterans.  We plan to add them to our database in the future.  In the meantime, the free legal aid provider in your service area should be able to refer you to other legal clinics in your State, if they exist.

The American Bar Association has two special programs that rely on volunteer attorneys around the country to provide free legal help. Operation Enduring Lamp is designed to assist deployed and mobilized personnel.  The Military Pro Bono Project helps JAG and military legal assistance officers access local legal services for service members.

Can private attorneys help me?

Informaton on how to use a private attorney is provided here, with thanks to the North Carolina Bar Association's LAMP project. In general, you will need to work out a fee agreement with those individuals to pay for their legal services. 

Local "lawyer referral and information services" [LRIS] can help you find a private attorney in your community. These programs are usually run by the local bar association and have been included in our database of "helpful organizations."  To get this information, fill out the "about me" button and indicate you are not low-income.  Information about the LRIS programs in your State will appear if they have attorneys able to handle the legal problem you identify. You will need to pay the attorney for their services and may need to pay the LRIS program for the referral.

There are specific rules that apply to the use of private attorneys in VA cases.  For instance, they are not allowed to charge you for legal help in submitting your claim, but they can ask for fees if they help with an appeal after your claim is denied.  More information about this process is provided here.

The VA also has special requirements that any attorney or advocate must meet to handle VA cases. The VA maintains a searchable database by State of individuals who have have met the VA requirements for handling VA claims on behalf of veterans.