The Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder – www.MassLRF.org – is a crucial tool for connecting residents facing legal issues to low-cost or free legal services across the Commonwealth. The website provides Massachusetts residents with targeted referrals to legal services, nonprofits, courts and self–help materials. All referrals are based on the person’s specific location, income and type of legal problem.

There are currently 58 programs listed in the Legal Resource Finder, primarily legal services programs, other nonprofits that provide direct legal services to low-income people, and court programs. In addition, there are almost 200 “more information” pages, which include links to legal information and self-help materials, as well as links to relevant government agencies.

Thousands of people are using the Legal Resource finder each month – in 2021, almost 26,000 searches were performed for Massachusetts residents. Among those searches:

• Family, Children and Divorce was the most frequently searched issue area, accounting for almost 30% of the searches.
• Housing and Homelessness was a close second, accounting for 28% of the searches.
• Unemployment and Jobs constituted 145% of the searches.
• About 15% of the searches were for people aged 60 or older.
• Over 80% of the searches were for people who were at or below the 200% of poverty level.

In addition to connecting individuals to the help they need, the data collected through the Legal Resource finder is a valuable source of information about legal needs in Massachusetts. For more information, please contact Rochelle Hahn at rhahn@mlri.org.