Legal Assistance and Literature

Self-Help Guides

ACLU Questions and Answers about Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) [1]

• Legal financial obligations, or LFOs, are the fines, fees, costs and restitution imposed by the court on top of a criminal sentence.

How to Ask a Washington State Court to Reduce or Forgive Your Legal Financial Obligations [2]

• The legal process and forms described in this packet will not work for everybody. The legal forms in this packet will only work if either 1.) you have a misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, or felony criminal conviction in a Washington state district, municipal, or superior court OR 2.) your driver’s license is suspended for failure to pay fines on a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor offense.

Source Page
Also on Forms of Identification page.

Civil Legal Assistance

Northwest Justice Project - Get Legal Help [3]

• NJP provides legal assistance to eligible low-income families and individuals needing help with civil (non-criminal) legal problems in Washington state.
• CLEAR Hotline - Outside of King County 1-888-201-1014 weekdays between 9:15 am - 12:15 pm, or inside King County at 211 weekdays 8:00 am - 6:00 pm. [4]
• Frequently Asked Questions [5]

Washington State Board Moderate Means Service [6]

• To be eligible for the Moderate Means Program, you must be facing a family, housing, or consumer law issue and your household income must fall between 200%–400% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

Neighborhood Legal Clinic - King County Bar Association

• The purpose of the Neighborhood Legal Clinics program (NLC) is to offer free, limited legal advice and referrals to King County residents and Washington State residents with legal issues in King County who might otherwise have no access to the legal system. It is a goal of the program to make the clinics accessible regardless of barriers such as income, education, language or disability. [7]
• KCBA Pro Bono Services [8]
• Neighborhood Legal Clinics Brochure [9]
• Legal Resources and Assistance Brochure [10]

Also on King County Page

Columbia Legal Service

• For many years, Columbia Legal Services has represented communities facing poverty and oppression, and we use every legal tool available on their behalf. We have a special responsibility to serve people whose access to free legal services is restricted, due to institutionalized or immigration status. We share a deep commitment to serve and advocate alongside our clients as we seek justice together. Our role to serve people and use advocacy that might otherwise not be available makes our work an integral part of the Washington Alliance for Equal Justice.
• About [11]
• Advocacy Issue - Criminal Justice Reform [12]

Also on King County, Advocacy Organizations page.

Union Gospel Mission Legal Services [13]

• We're giving poor and homeless men and women a voice, so they can move on to the next stage of life. By clearing up their legal issues we equip them to leave chronic homelessness in the past. Our volunteer lawyers and paralegals meet with each client to hear their story. Then we help them build a plan to address the issue. We exist to provide affordable legal assistance to those in greatest need.

Also on King_County page.

Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers [14]

• Tacomaprobono changes lives, fights systemic racism and works against chronic poverty by providing access to timely, effective, professional civil legal aid services for low-income clients. We are focused on providing efficient, dignified solutions to legal issues affecting basic human needs such as housing and family safety.
• Legal Clinics [15]
• Family Law Help [16]
• Housing Justice Project [17]
• Contact [18]

Also on Pierce County

Immigrant Rights and Legal Assistance

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project [19]

• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) is a non-profit legal services office that provides legal representation and community education to low-income immigrants in Washington State.
• Eligibility Requirements
  • Spanish Eligibility [20]
  • English Eligibility [21]
• Community Education [22]
• Survivors of Domestic Violence & Other Crimes[23]
• Asylum [24]
• Family Services [25]
• Children & Youth [26]
• Citizenship [27]
• DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) [28]
• Detention and Deportation Defense [29]
• Northwest Detention Center Guide
  • English [30]
  • Spanish [31]
• NWIRP Know Your Rights Brochure
  • English [32]
  • Conozca Sus Derechos [33]

Immigration Law Help Washington [34]

• Printing note: there are two pages of results. You can refine the search to counties served or types of legal assistance provided at the bottom of the page.

Parental Rights

Washington Defender Association Incarcerated Parents Project [35]

• We provide legal resources by providing case assistance to incarcerated parents and parents facing incarceration, family members, indigent defenders, and others; legal motions and briefs; expert referrals; and legal training to defenders, other court participants and community members; and we engage in collaborative policy efforts to keep parents in the community, ensure high quality, meaningful connections are maintained between children and their parents during incarceration, and to remove stigma associated with parental incarceration.
• IPP Need Help [36]
• Commonly Asked Questions [37]
• IPP Resources [38]
• Visiting Information (WA State) [39]

Also on Family Resources page

Disability Rights

Disability Rights Washington [40]

• We are a private non-profit organization that protects the rights of people with disabilities statewide. Our mission is to advance the dignity, equality, and self-determination of people with disabilities. We pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights.
• Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities (AVID) [41]
  • AVID focuses on improving conditions, treatment, services, and reentry for people with disabilities who are incarcerated in our state’s jails and prisons, as well as those who reside at the Special Commitment Center. AVID works to ensure that those who are reentering the community have their voices heard and their rights protected. One Page Informational Flyer [42]
• Resources Tools to Help You [43]
  • Topics: Abuse or Neglect, Accessibility & Assistive Technology, Children and Youth, Education, Employment, Health Care, Housing, Inmate Rights, Legal Assistance, Mental Health, Money Matters, Self-Advocacy, Service Animals, Support Decision Making & Guardianship, Veterans, Voting.
  • Inmate Rights [44]
• Request Services [45]
• Contact Us [46]

Also on Advocacy Organizations page.

LGBTQIA+ Legal Assistance

Lavender Rights Project - Legal Assistance

• Lavender Rights Project elevates the power, autonomy, and leadership of the Black intersex & gender diverse community through intersectional legal and social services. We utilize the law as an organizing principle to affirm our civil rights and self-determination. Our organization disrupts oppressive systems that target Black gender diverse and intersex communities of color and lead to disproportionate levels of poverty, housing disparities, and gender-based violence, especially among Black and Indigenous people. [47]
• Legal Services [48]
• WA Black Trans Task Force [49]
• Legal Clinics [50]
• Prisoner Name Change Clinics [51]

Also on Queer & LGBTQIA+ Resources Page

QLaw Foundation

• King County LGBTQ+ Legal Clinic [52]
  • The QLaw Foundation LGBTQ+ Legal Clinic is organized by the QLaw Foundation and is one of the King County Bar Association’s Neighborhood Legal Clinics. The LGBTQ+ Legal Clinic offers a free consultation with a volunteer attorney. Attorneys determine whether the client has a legal problem, suggest possible options, and provide appropriate referrals. These attorneys will not represent you in court.
• King County Family Matters a legal clinic to establish LGBTQ legal parental rights [53]
  • The QLaw Foundation Family Matters Clinic is a full-representation legal clinic that helps LGBTQ families get legal orders affirming their legal parental relationship to the children they are raising. "Full representation" means that client families will be assigned an attorney who will work with them from start to finish.

Also on King County and Queer & LGBTQIA+ Resources
También disponible en Español Recursos Condado

Veteran's Legal Assistance

Veterans Justice Outreach Program [54]

• The aim of the Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) program is to avoid the unnecessary criminalization of mental illness and extended incarceration among Veterans by ensuring that eligible, justice-involved Veterans have timely access to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) services, as clinically indicated. VJO specialists provide direct outreach, assessment and case management for justice-involved Veterans in local courts and jails and liaison with local justice system partners.
• VJO Fact Sheet January 2021 [55]
• Also on Veterans page.

LastAuditDate 2022-02-14