Legal Assistance and Literature

Self-Help Guides

Legal Financial Obligations

Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs): Understanding How LFOs Work [1]

• The purpose of this guide is to help educate people about Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) and how they work. LFOs include fees, fines, and restitution orders that are assessed by judges at the time of criminal conviction.
• Source Page [2]

How to Ask a Washington State Court to Reduce or Forgive Your Legal Financial Obligations[3]

• 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 [4]
• Also on Forms of Identification page.

Legal Assistance

Northwest Justice Project - Get Legal Help

• Find out how to Get Legal Help and if you qualify for free legal aid. [5]
• CLEAR Hotline - If you are low-income, call our toll-free hotline, CLEAR (Coordinated Legal Education, Advice and Referral). You can call CLEAR Monday-Friday from 9:15 am to 12:15 pm, at 1-888-201-1014. Generally, we first screen callers for income eligibility and type of legal problem. If it’s not a type of problem we can help with, such as a criminal law problem or personal injury case, we’ll do our best to refer you somewhere that can help.[6]
• Assistance for people who are currently incarcerated is very limited. Call 206-382-1943 for more information.
• Read more about calling clear [7]

Washington State Board Moderate Means Service [8]

• 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.[9]
• KCBA Pro Bono Services [10]
• Neighborhood Legal Clinics Brochure [11]
• Legal Resources and Assistance Brochure [12]
• note: also on King County page

Columbia Legal Service

• Resources to address the legal needs of people with criminal histories.
• Institutions Project [13]
• Brochure [14]
• note: also on King County page

Union Gospel Mission Legal Services [15]

• 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.
• Flyer [16]
• note: also on King County page

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project [17]

• 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 [18]
• Washington Attorneys [19]
• Direct Legal Services [20]
• Community Education [21]

Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association Volunteer Legal Services [22]

• Do you have a legal issue in Pierce County but no money to hire an attorney? Volunteer Legal Services can help with civil legal issues in Pierce County when you cannot afford to hire an attorney. You do not have to be a Pierce County resident to get help with your case. Call (253) 572-5134 or e-mail [email protected]. If you call, please leave one message and you will be contacted by an intake specialist who can schedule you for a legal clinic or refer you to other resources as appropriate.
• Brochure 2016 [23]
• Legal Advice Clinics [24]
• Veteran and Active Military Legal Services [25]
  • Also on Pierce County page
  • Also on Veterans page

Center for Justice, Empowering People & Communities [26]

• Spokane attorney Jim Sheehan founded the Center for Justice in 1999, fulfilling a long desire to do more for his hometown and its most vulnerable citizens. As Sheehan saw it, the courts too often favored the strong, while the powerless often couldn’t afford representation or were tripped up by technicalities.
• Legal Services [27]
  • NOTE: Several of these resources have been removed. See below for active links.
  • Getting my license back [28]
  • Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) [29]
  • Clearing my record [30]
  • A Housing Dispute & Homelessness [31]
• FAQ [32]
• Contact Information [33]
  • NOTE: Appointment required