All About Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc
Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. ("LAWO") is a nonprofit private law firm serving low-income individuals and families in 32 counties in west and central Ohio. A member of the Ohio Legal Aid Ohio Network, LAWO provides civil legal aid for family law matters (such as divorce, dissolution and custody), housing matters (such as consumer debt, bankruptcy, domestic relations, employment, probate, school expulsion, abuse and neglect), health law (such as Medicaid, long-term care, social security, and Medicare), juvenile courts, consumer fraud, fair housing, education , and domestic violence. LAWO believes that access to justice is a fundamental right for everyone, not just those who can pay for an attorney. With legal professionals, paralegals, legal assistants, volunteers, retiree lawyers, and support staff, LAWO seeks to provide every client with professional legal representation. LAWO serves several functions for the west and central Ohio community. It helps make the community better by promoting fairness, truth, justice, and economic opportunity. By defending the legal rights of the most vulnerable members of society, LAWO helps the community overall.
The Services Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc Provides
Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. (LAWO), is a non-profit law firm that provides free legal assistance for low-income families and people of central and western Ohio. In addition to a team of dedicated social workers and dozens of pro bono and private attorneys, LAWO employs about two dozen full-time lawyers, who devote their efforts to clients across Western Ohio.
Some of the services provided by LAWO attorneys include:
Family Law
A full-service family law team, LAWO specializes in divorce and separation, custody and visitation disputes, domestic violence and marital property settlements. Attorneys also help victims of domestic violence obtain orders of protection through the legal system. They also assist clients with issues related to child support, spousal support, division of marital property and establishing paternity.
Housing
While LAWO cannot provide legal services to every eligible client, it does help people in need find resources that can help them get adequate housing or file for protections against poor housing. The organization helps clients file for housing protections, works to ensure that certain housing claims are paid when a landlord cannot, and maintains a network of pro bono and referral attorneys who can help with available housing options and protections.
Civil Rights Protection
LAWO is a consistent voice for civil rights in the greater Ohio area. The organization has represented the interests of clients through advocacy, group education programs or by providing pro bono legal services. From job training opportunities to local community resources, LAWO helps clients get proper assistance for civil rights concerns.
Supplemental Security Income
LAWO provides supplemental Security Income services, which provides financial assistance for low-income individuals who are blind, disabled or elderly. These benefits are funded by the federal government and are available to people who are not eligible for regular Social Security benefits. Social Security attorneys provide SSI consultation and take cases before administrative law judges.
Consumer and Estate Law
Breach of contract, wage and labor issues as well as complex estate matters are all handled by LAWO attorneys. These lawyers help clients understand their rights and responsibilities, negotiate legal agreements, and work with creditors or lenders as needed.
How to Access Legal Aid of Western Ohio Services
To determine eligibility for services, individuals may apply for a lawyer by walking in to Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. (LAWO) on a twelve-county brochure in any branch office or by applying online here. Potential clients may need to submit household information, financial documents, and other supporting documents. Determination for eligibility as a low-income client is made based on a 200% income guideline using the Federal Poverty Guidelines that may be viewed here. LAWO will generally accept clients whose household income is below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. See below for examples of what a client must meet to be considered very low income under the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FGP):
Income for a Family of Four:
In addition to potential clients meeting income eligibility requirements, a client must demonstrate legal need and have a case that legal aid can accept. See below for examples of case types that LAWO accepts:
LAWO does not accept clients with assets that exceed $500,000.
If after the application process LAWO declines to accept a legal aid case, clients and potential clients may request an appeal or reconsideration, which will be completed at an expedited hearing at the office filing where the case originated. Support Staff from the county office that originally provided an intake will be responsible for conducting the hearing. Either LAWO staff or the individual may be represented by counsel. Clients may also file a complaint with the Commission on Lawyer Review, see Rule 12.08. Clients who are turned away have the right to appeal the decision and request a formal review if needed.
Legal Aid of Western Ohio Success and Community Impact
Over the years, the work of Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc has resulted in many success stories that have not only changed the lives of individuals but also made an indelible impact on the community as a whole. For instance, we assisted a woman with serious mental illness who was being evicted from her unit in supportive housing. Without a place to call home, the woman would have undoubtedly regressed into homelessness. Our housing attorney represented this client in a court hearing, where she she was able to resolve the case. She now remains in her home and is attending her medical appointments and taking her medications. A local nonprofit organization that refers clients to Legal Aid for non-legal social work services that can help keep people healthy, safe, educated, and housed expressed its gratitude by saying that, because of Legal Aid, this client "has been re-connected to housing, benefits, and hope… We are forever grateful."
Another client’s story showcases the impact Legal Aid attorneys can have in cases that are particularly complex. Our advocacy and intensive litigation over the course of several years resulted in a young boy receiving the support he truly needed. When he was born, the child was diagnosed with autism and neurological impairment. The diagnosis meant that he was not eligible for the Supplemental Security Income benefits he needed, but did not have access to other government programs, leaving him entirely dependent on his mother’s meager income from an odd job cleaning houses . We sued both the Social Security Administration and the Social Security Administration’s Medicare contractor, establishing that the boy was eligible for Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid benefits in Michigan, Minnesota, and Florida. The victories in these cases resulted in our young client securing the financial resources to access needed care and treatment.
Apart from individual success stories, Legal Aid’s work has led to increased access to justice and long-overdue systemic change. A frequent client is the Shelby County Children Services Board in Sidney, Ohio. The case worker who first made contact with Legal Aid on behalf of the board stated, "I wish that I had known about [Legal Aid] earlier; [your attorneys] have been amazing… ." After the board brought its second legal issue to Legal Aid, the attorney worked with the board’s leadership and identified ways the board could avoid future issues. The board’s director wrote, "Since this is the second time I have had the pleasure to work with you, I wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation for the prompt, excellent, professional service your agency provides for Shelby County" (emphasis ours). As noted by the Shelby County Children Services Board, Legal Aid has been an effective advocate for children and families in Shelby County.
Legal Aid of Western Ohio and Some Common Challenges
Like all nonprofits, legal aid organizations face many challenges in their pursuit of their organizational and community goals. Declining funding makes it difficult to provide the same level of services as in the past. Declining funding also decreases the number of employees and increases the workload on existing staff. More importantly, declining funding makes it more difficult to hire and retain competent staff and decreases the net hiring pool available to offer positions to legal aid lawyers.
More clients are coming to legal aid organizations than ever before. This demand outstrips the ability of legal aid organizations to hire more staff and increase funding to process the increase number of clients. The increase in demand for legal services is due to increased unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, loss of child support and other factors. Increasing litigation in state and federal courts also contribute to the demand for attorneys to represent low income clients.
Legal aid organizations are not what they used to be. The traditional model of having lawyers on staff providing legal representation to low income clients is no longer possible. Large and small counties are trying to meet the needs of low income residents but decreasing funding levels prevent them from hiring staff to meet the increased demand for legal services.
Get Involved with Legal Aid of Western Ohio
For individuals, supporting Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc is as simple as clicking on their respective donate buttons and pledging dollars to support the work of these organizations. For businesses , Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc has created sponsorship opportunities particularly as to their annual event.