Lawyers Clearinghouse Email Format
Legal ServicesMassachusetts, United States11-50 Employees
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Lawyers Clearinghouse was established in 1988 by the Boston Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association to coordinate private-sector pro bono resources in the effort to address homelessness and the shortage of affordable housing in Greater Boston. Each year it supports around 250 homeless and low-income clients and 500 nonprofit organizations by organizing and leveraging volunteers who provide legal assistance. The organization operates with a small staff that recruits, trains, coordinates, and mentors hundreds of volunteers to deliver direct legal services. Its programs include the Massachusetts Legal Clinic for the Homeless & Low-Income Residents, which provides full representation on housing, disability benefits, immigration, and sealing criminal records; the Nonprofit Assistance Program, connecting Massachusetts nonprofits with pro bono legal help and resources; and the Access to Justice Fellows Program, pairing retired lawyers and judges with legal services offices and nonprofits. The Clearinghouse serves low-income, very low-income, and homeless people in Boston through these initiatives and is the only organization offering no-cost legal services to non-Veteran homeless individuals in Boston, as well as the only statewide provider of pro bono services to nonprofit organizations. In 2020, Susan Gedrick became Executive Director after the retirement of long-time Executive Director Maribeth Perry.