Lawyers & Legal Help
Legal Aid Resources in Maine
The Maine State Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service call (800) 860-1460 or visit www.mainebar.org/lawyer_need.asp.
The Maine State Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service charges a $25 administrative fee, and referred attorneys will not charge for the first half-hour of a consultation. After the first half-hour, standard legal fees may apply. Everyone is eligible for this service.
The list below is an overview of the areas of law covered by each agency. Contact the agency directly to see if you qualify for their services.
A .pdf version is available a this this link Legal Aid Resources in Maine (PDF). You will need the most current version of Adobe Reader to open this document. You can download Adobe Reader at this link http://get.adobe.com/reader/.
Agency |
Eligibility |
Benefits |
Debtor Issues & Bankruptcy |
Divorce & Family Law |
Domestic Violence |
Eviction & Tenant Issues |
Employment Issues |
Foreclosure & Other Housing |
Healthcare |
Immigration & Citizenship Issues |
Youth Issues |
Other Civil Legal Issues |
Disability Rights Center |
People with Disabilities |
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Immigrant Legal Advocacy |
Low-income |
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Legal Services for the Elderly (800)750-5353 mainelse.org |
60 or older; Medicare help for everyone |
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Maine Center on Deafness (800)639-3884 mcdmaine.org |
D/deaf (or) Hard-of-Hearing |
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Maine Equal Justice Partners (866)626-7059http://mejp.org/ |
Low-income |
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Penquis Law Project (800)215-4942 www.penquis.org |
Low & moderate income; Penobscot, Piscataquis & Knox counties |
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Pine Tree Legal Assistance (207)774-4753 ptla.org (or) statesidelegal.org |
Low-income & Military/ Veterans |
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Volunteer Lawyers Project |
Low income |
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University of Maine Law School: Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic (877)780-2522 |
Low-income; Representation by student attorneys |
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Courthouse Assistance Project
Online Legal Resources
HelpMELaw.org - Use HelpMELaw to find: People who may be able to help you with a specific legal problem of for information about laws that affect you
Stateside Legal - a website for members of the military, veterans, their families and advocates to find free legal help and resources.
Libraries
Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library in Augusta features Ask A Librarian. You e-mail them your questions and they'll send you legal information. Although librarians cannot give you legal advice, they can help you find the information you're looking for.
The Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves Law Library provides legal research and assistance to all lawyers, to the courts and to the public. The Library strives to maintain a complete and up-to-date collection of materials in an appropriate physical setting, and to deliver competent, professional research assistance that allows Library patrons to make full use of the Library’s resources. The Library is responsive to the changing needs of its patrons, and provide a cost-efficient means to share legal resource costs and resources for the benefit of all.
County Law Libraries are the public court law libraries of the State of Maine, the Committee's Law Libraries are established to provide legal information to the Trial Courts, both District and Superior, and to the Law Court, and to the legal community and general public. This library network strives to develop specialized collections and services to address the legal reference, research, educational, and community information needs of its library users. These Law libraries are committed to facilitating access to their collections and services.
Please note that only one of these libraries, Cleaves in Cumberland County, is staffed. However, there is a notebook at each location containing instructions on how to access the computer resources.
Donald L. Garbrecht Law Library--University of Maine School of Law a staff of six professional librarians and eight supporting personnel service the law library's collection. The staff provides reference service, prepares bibliographies, and instructs in the use of all specialized legal materials.
During the academic year the law library is open 95 hours per week with seating space for over 160 students. Professional reference service is available 40 hours per week. The library is accessible to disabled students.
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association provides information that will help you determine when you need a lawyer, how to find one, and services available to low-income individuals.
