About Georgia Legal Services® 
Mission
The mission of the Georgia Legal Services Program is to provide access to justice and opportunities out of poverty for Georgians with low-incomes.
Our lawyers and paralegals provide the help that reflects your community's values of fairness, equality, and responsibility to assist others in need. Read our Civil Justice Reports and our latest Annual Report here.
View Bringing Justice Home, the story of Georgia Legal Services Program narrated by Rosalyn Carter.
History
The Younger Lawyers Division (formerly Section) of the State Bar of Georgia is recognized as the moving force behind the Georgia Legal Services Program back in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
In 1968 the Younger Lawyers Section (YLS) of the State Bar of Georgia initiated a study of the need for lawyers for the poor. The study concluded that there was a distressing disproportion between the actual need for legal services by those who could not afford them and the present supply of legal services available to them. In addition, the study found that lawyers tend to concentrate in urban areas, whereas many of the "indigent" live in rural areas where legal help is less available. This was followed the next year by another extensive report aimed at promoting "provision of legal services to indigent persons to the fullest extent possible," including a draft of Articles of Incorporation of Georgia Indigents Legal Services, Inc. It was through the efforts of individual members of the YLS that there was created in 1971 the Georgia Legal Services Program.
During its early years, volunteer legal aid efforts in Savannah, Columbus, Macon, and Dahlonega were added to the Georgia Legal Services Program, and other efforts began in Augusta, Albany, Brunswick, Gainesville, and Rome. The early growth of the Georgia Legal Services Program is attributable in part to donations by members of the Bar around the State. Support from the State Bar leadership has been important for the growth and survival of the Georgia Legal Services Program since its early years. Today, the Georgia Legal Services Program has 12 offices around the State, which serve low-income Georgians in civil matters. The Georgia Legal Services Program has become an important part of the legal profession in the State, and is targeted at a need that would not otherwise be addressed as effectively.
Types of Legal Problems Handled
Each year Georgia Legal Services Program adopts Case Acceptance Criteria based on the most critical legal needs that are experienced by persons with low-incomes. Here is a link to our Case Acceptance Criteria for 2009: 2009 Case Acceptance Criteria
The decision to accept any specific case depends on the details of the situation and whether the office has a lawyer available to handle the case at the time the individual requests legal representation. Requests for assistance always exceed the number of cases that GLSP attorneys can handle.
Services
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Advice and counsel for civil cases
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Brief service
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Representation in administrative hearings and court
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Other legal assistance
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Educational programs
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Referrals to private attorneys and to other services
Special Projects
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Statewide Domestic Violence Project
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Landlord/Tenant Housing Helpline
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Migrant & Seasonal Farm Workers Project
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State Bar Pro Bono Project
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Elder Legal Assistance and Elder Abuse Prevention Projects
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Homeless Legal Assistance Project
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Legal Assistance for Persons with HIV/AIDS
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Long-term Care Ombudsman Projects
See how we . .
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