New Hampshire Legal Help

If you have legal problems that are not criminal in nature there is help available in New Hampshire. Most require that you pay something toward the legal costs based on your income, but for the truly poor there is free help available. The legal aid is provided by volunteer attorneys relying on a variety of grant funding sources. Each program provides different services to financially eligible individuals and families.

The Legal Advice & Referral Center (LARC) is for low-income individuals with family law problems such as divorce, child custody disputes, welfare benefits, housing, or bankruptcy. You can call the center at 1-800-639-5290 or 603-224-3333 between 9 and 1, Monday through Friday. The center also does referrals to the New Hampshire Bar Association's Pro Bono Referral Program and New Hampshire Legal Assistance, two programs that provide direct legal services for disadvantaged individuals and families. LARC receives it's funding from the federal Legal Services Corporation and from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation. It provides services to clients that earn less than 125 percent of federal poverty guidelines.

New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) is a statewide legal services organization supported by funding from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation, United Way, and the New Hampshire Division of Elderly and Adult Services. It helps low-income clients with such problems as subsidized housing, property tax relief, housing discrimination, unemployment compensation, domestic violence, Social Security, medicaid, and other state or local government benefit programs. NHLA has offices in Manchester (1-800-562-3174 or 603-668-2900); Portsmouth (1-800-334-3135 or 603-431-7411); Claremont (1-800-562-3994 or 603-542-8795); Littleton (1-800-548-1886 or 603-444-8000); or Berlin (1-800-698-8969 or 603-752-1102).

The Pro Bono Referral Program has volunteer attorneys who accept cases referred to them by LARC. The pro bono program accepts cases such as divorce, custody, domestic violence, or bankruptcy, landlord-tenant problems and children's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability appeals. If accepted you will be given an attorney in your area to represent you. The pro bono program receives support from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation's Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts, the Violence Against Women Act and several United Ways.

The Reduced-Fee Referral Program is for people of moderate income that exceeds the limits of eligibility for pro bono or NHLA. The New Hampshire Bar Association operates this reduced-fee referral program. Lawyer referral service staff at the bar association will screen you to determine eligibility and to match you with attorneys who practice in the area of law you need. The program is supported by finding from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation's Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts and the New Hampshire Bar Association.

The Senior Citizens Advice Line is run by NHLA and offers free telephone advice line for people 60 or older, regardless of income, who are seeking legal advice on civil matters. The advice line 1-888-353-9944 in NH or 603-624-6000 is open from 9 to 4, Monday through Friday, and has real people answering the calls.

The Disabilities Rights Center (DRC) is an independent nonprofit agency in New Hampshire for disabled individuals needing legal help because of an issue with their disability. The aid is free for low-income individuals. Those with moderate incomes may be asked to pay some of the cost. There is no charge for assistance of less than two hours. Contact the DRC by phone at 1-800-834-1721 or 603-228-0432. The number is for voice or TTD, but you can also get TDD access through NH Relay Service at 1-800-735-2964.

The Civil Practice Clinic serves disadvantaged clients in Merrimack County. Students of the Franklin Pierce Law Center provide the service but they are well supervised by both lawyers and the law center faculty. They will help you in such matters as consumer fraud, debt collection, landlord-tenant disputes, and bankruptcy.