Over 6,000 low-income Massachusetts residents have been helped

This month marks five years since the launch of Mass Legal Answers Online (MLAO), a virtual legal advice clinic that enables low-income Massachusetts residents to obtain free legal advice from volunteer attorneys. Since MLAO’s launch in November 2016, 485 attorneys from across the Commonwealth have signed up to answer more than 6,600 questions on civil legal topics such as housing, family, consumer debt, and employment. We here at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute administer MLAO, with the assistance of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association.

The goal of MLAO is to expand access to justice by providing both clients and volunteers a platform to obtain and give free legal advice at a time and place of their choosing. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic when many in-person opportunities for help were unavailable, MLAO has provided a unique, vital resource for thousands of low-income individuals. (more…)