The Delaware Bar Foundation and nonprofit legal services agencies announced a website has replaced the telephone-based Delaware Legal Helplink.
Delegalhelplink.org will provide contact information for a legal services agency, state agency or social services organization tailored to legal needs identified by a user.
Those who not qualify for legal assistance from a legal services agency, state agency or social services organization will be provided a link to the Lawyer Referral Service on the Delaware State Bar Association website.
The Delaware Legal Helplink provides access to 40 percent more agencies than its telephone-based predecessor The service was praised by top officials in the state, who added that more needs to be done to improve access to legal advice.
“Delaware Legal Helplink provides Delawareans with convenient access to important legal services across our state, and other social services provided by the State of Delaware and our partners,” said Gov. John Carney. “This new website delegalhelplink.org, will help connect Delawareans with those services in a more efficient way – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Thank you to Delaware’s nonprofit legal services providers, and other members of Delaware’s esteemed legal community, for their leadership and partnership on this important work.”
“The Delaware Judiciary congratulates Delaware’s nonprofit civil legal services providers on the launch of their new online resource for matching low-income litigants with the legal help they need. We are particularly pleased that this new service will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. More needs to be done, but this new, modern Legal Helplink is another tool that will assist in providing better access to justice for all Delawareans,” said Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr.
Delaware Attorney General Matthew Denn said “Like many similar organizations around the country, Delaware’s legal services organizations have faced dwindling resources that have challenged their ability to assist Delawareans in need. The new DELegalHelpLink.org web site is a creative and effective way of guiding Delawareans to legal help in this challenging fiscal environment. Delaware’s bar has an outstanding tradition of providing free legal services to those who cannot afford attorneys, and DELegalHelpLink.org will be a great tool in directing those Delawareans eligible for free legal help to the right organization, and also directing those Delawareans who can afford to pay for legal help to attorneys who can help them with their specific problems. Moving forward, I hope that our state and federal governments will recognize the critical importance of these legal services organizations and enhance their support for them.”
DELegalHelpLink.org is a public service from the Delaware Bar Foundation, in partnership with Delaware’s nonprofit civil legal services providers and other justice community partners, including:
- Legal Services Corporation of Delaware, Inc. a non-profit law firm and community education organization assisting low-income families in Delaware.
- Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI), a private, non-profit law firm.
- Delaware Volunteer Legal Services, Inc., which serves indigent residents throughout the State of Delaware by providing quality, pro bono legal services.
- The Delaware State Bar Association (DSBA), a voluntary bar association for members of the Delaware Bar.
The DELegalHelpLink.org website was developed and maintained by Pro Bono Net, using the LawHelp.org platform. Pro Bono Net is a national nonprofit organization based in New York City and San Francisco. The LawHelp.org platform has been created for people living on low-incomes and the legal organizations that serve them.
