July 1st, 2009
There are many different types of legal services provided for people in need. The range and vary depending on the types of legal services needed. Most often legal services also known as legal aid is provided to those who are low-income and cannot afford legal representation. Legal aid was established to give everyone a fair chance at getting the legal help and advice they need. Rules, regulations and specifications for legal services of legal aid will depend on where you live, so it is important to review the rules and specifications regarding legal aid in your area.
Most liberal democracies consider that it is necessary to provide some level of legal aid or legal services to persons otherwise unable to afford legal representation. To fail to do so would deprive such people of access to the court system. Alternately, they would be at a disadvantage in situations in which the state or a wealthy individual took them to court. This would violate the principles of equality before the law and due process under the rule of law. A number of delivery models for legal aid and legal services have emerged. In a “staff attorney” model, lawyers are employed on salary solely to provide legal assistance to qualifying low-income clients. In a “judicare” model, private lawyers and law firms are paid to handle cases from eligible clients alongside cases from fee-paying clients. The “community legal clinic” model comprises non-profit clinics serving a particular community through a broad range of legal services or legal aid and provided by both lawyers and non-lawyers.
Although legal services and assistance for the poor appeared in the US as early as the 1870s, for the most part, they remained underfunded until well into the 20th century. In the early 1960s a new model for legal services and legal aid emerged. Foundations, particularly the Ford Foundation, began to fund legal services programs located in multi-service social agencies, based on a philosophy that legal services should be a component of an overall anti-poverty effort. However, the problem of underfunding of legal aid traps the lower middle class in a catch-22, too rich to qualify for legal aid, too poor to pay an attorney in private practice. To remedy the ongoing shortage of legal aid services, some commentators have suggested that mandatory pro bono obligations ought to be required of all lawyers.
In any case a person, no matter there class should be able to receive legal representation. Because of this legal services and legal aid were implemented into society. The process of getting everyone covered has been slow moving and is a continuing problem and area of concern today. Steps have been taken to try and resolve this problem, however further steps still need to be taken. Legal aid is a chance for people who don’t have the money to get the proper legal representation they, shouldn’t that be an option for everyone? Those who implemented the process of legal services think so and people are still working towars this today.