BOSTON, April 16, 2024 – Today, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) proudly announced the official relaunch of MassLegalHelp.org, one of five websites it manages. 

MassLegalHelp.org offers free, practical legal information and resources to help members of the public learn about their legal rights in Massachusetts and take actionable steps to solve civil legal problems. The refreshed site features a modern, streamlined look that contains over 800 articles, e-books, and videos reviewed by substantive legal experts. MassLegalHelp.org is committed to enhancing access to justice for vulnerable people struggling with critical legal issues related to unemployment; housing; public benefits; family law; health care; domestic violence; money and debt; immigration; education; and more. 

“Over a million people each year use the MassLegalHelp website, often in moments of crisis. By providing information that folks can trust and presenting it in an understandable format, we hope to help make stressful situations less overwhelming and make the legal system more navigable,” said Marlena Idrobo, MassLegalHelp Website Project Manager at MLRI. “MassLegalHelp is committed to offering accessible legal self-help resources.”

“Most people facing serious civil legal problems are not eligible for a free lawyer. Although Massachusetts’ civil legal programs provide free legal help to tens of thousands of people each year, they don’t have the capacity to help everyone who can’t afford a lawyer,” said Rochelle Hahn, Director, Massachusetts Legal Aid Websites Project. “MassLegalHelp leverages both technology and the substantive expertise of civil legal aid practitioners to fill this justice gap.” 

Over the past year, the MassLegalHelp team partnered with more than 60 subject matter experts, including legal aid staff, attorneys, and community partners to update the site’s content. The team incorporated user feedback through multiple rounds of user testing, including one with Spanish speakers. MassLegalHelp.org meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the industry standard for measuring accessibility for people with disabilities, with features like text-to-speech, stark color contrasts, and navigable pages for users of screen readers and keyboards. The team is in the process of translating content into Spanish, the second most common language spoken in Massachusetts. MassLegalHelp.org will continue to be regularly updated to ensure the most accessible and accurate information is presented to users.

Learn more by visiting masslegalhelp.org and share it with others who may have civil legal questions.