Legal aid opened doors for Chloe and her family … a door to safety and the chance for happy, successful lives. People like you are why we can open our doors to families like this and step in to bring them justice. Will you please help us keep those doors swinging open through 2024? Please give today!
Providing Civil Legal Aid for over 50 years
NLS secures justice and resolves fundamental legal problems for those who are low-income and vulnerable in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence Counties by providing high-quality legal services and community legal education. Founded in 1966, NLS has provided civil legal aid to more than 1.2 million of our low-income neighbors in need of legal assistance. Click here for our Guide to Help brochure. Cliquea para obtener el folleto de ayuda.
NLS offers various levels of service on different legal issues. Some individuals may receive representation, others legal advice, and others referrals to available resources. While we wish we could provide full representation to every applicant on every legal issue, we simply do not have enough funding and staff resources to do so. In addition to programmatic limitations, financial eligibility criteria apply.
Types of Services
- FAMILY: Custody, Divorce, Child Support, Representation for Victims of Crime and Domestic Violence, and Guardianship.
- HOUSING: Landlord-Tenant Defense, Wrongful Eviction, Tangled Titles, Public or Subsidized Housing Denials, Utility or Security Deposit Issues.
- CONSUMER: Bankruptcy, Sheriff and Property Tax Sales, Mortgage Foreclosures, Debt Collection, and Auto Repossession.
- PUBLIC BENEFITS: Denials of SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP, TANF, LIHEAP, and Unemployment Benefits.
- SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY: Benefit Denials, Terminations, Overpayments, and Underpayments.
- EMPLOYMENT: Wages Claims, Criminal Record Expungement, Denial of Family and Medical Leave Benefits, Workplace Discrimination, Driver's License Suspensions, and Job Terminations.
- ELDER: Living Wills, Healthcare, Power of Attorney, Victims of Physical, Emotional, or Financial Abuse.
- VETERANS: Denial of Veteran Benefits, Military Discharge Upgrades, Prevention of Utility Shut-offs, Help in Resolving Housing or Debt Issues.
Join the Fight for Justice
Investing in Equal Access
Funding for civil legal aid is grossly inadequate. NLS only has the financial resources to help a fraction of those in need. Your financial assistance to NLS helps our neighbors in crisis return to safe, productive lives.
NLS works diligently to raise funds to support programs and services for those who have nowhere else to turn for help. There are many ways you can help bridge the justice gap in our community by investing in civil justice and supporting NLS.
Helping Those in Need
NLS welcomes those who wish to volunteer time and services in helping our clients obtain equal access to justice, particularly attorneys and law students who can assist our attorneys in representing clients before judicial and administrative bodies.
We also welcome trained paralegals as volunteers. We can be flexible in work schedules and can work with you to determine the site that best fits your needs and area of expertise. Whether you are currently practicing, recently retired or just starting your career, NLS would meet with you to determine where your legal talents and experience can help fulfill our mission.
“My NLS lawyer spent time talking to me about what abuse is. I hadn’t recognized a lot of what my husband had done as abuse, because most of the people in my family exhibited those behaviors.”
Charlotte S., Pittsburgh
“Having my son back is a gift from NLS that I can never repay.”
- Sandra B., Butler
“I’m satisfied now. This house meant a lot to my mother and my grandmother. Now, thanks to Neighborhood Legal Services, I can qualify for assistance and fix it up. I’ve already started!”
- Keith B., Pittsburgh
“Legal aid through NLS saved our lives. I'm certain of it”
- Chloe, Pittsburgh