The Central Virginia Legal Aid Society (CVLAS) is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that provides free legal assistance in civil matters to low-income and elderly residents in central

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Mission and services

CVLAS is one of 10

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

services in Virginia. The geographical area it covers includes the cities of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, Petersburg, Hopewell, Colonial Heights and

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

, as well as the counties of Albemarle, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Fluvanna, Goochland,

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Greene, Iowa, a city * Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene * Greene (town), New York **Greene (village), New York, in the to ...

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Henrico, Louisa,

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, New Kent,

Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...

, Prince George and Surry. It has offices in Richmond, Charlottesville and Petersburg. CVLAS provides legal advice primarily in the areas of

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, consumer and disability rights,

employment law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

, housing law,

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

, and public benefits. Through the

Legal Services Corporation The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a publicly funded, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established by the United States Congress. It seeks to ensure equal access to justice under the law for all Americans by funding organizations providing c ...

, it receives federal funding and is thus subject to specific restrictions: The society and its employees may not be affiliated with a political party, support a specific candidate, lobby for legislation or represent criminal clients, among other activities. The society primarily represents individuals with incomes under 125% of the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, although it may accept clients earning up to 200% of the poverty line. It also represents people over the age of 60, even if they do not meet the income qualifications. Its services include legal advice, briefs, negotiation, litigation, and representation in administrative hearings, as well as community education and activities in partnership with other local, state, and national legal aid groups. The Richmond office has the resources to help only 4,000 to 5,000 low-income residents a year. According to the

Virginia State Bar The Virginia State Bar (VSB) is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia created to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. Membership in good standing in the VSB is mandatory for attorneys wishing to pr ...

, Virginia has one lawyer for every 349 people, but just one legal aid lawyer for every 6,200 residents living in poverty. CVLAS hosts a local radio show titled ''It's Time for Justice,'' broadcast every Wednesday from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. on

WRIR-LP WRIR-LP (97.3 FM) is an independent, all volunteer, nonprofit community public radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, serving Metro Richmond. It is the largest low power FM station of its kind in the United States. WRIR-LP is owned and op ...

. The host is Martin D. Wegbreit, CVLAS's director of litigation. The show includes news, interviews, and answers to listeners' questions about consumer, employment, family, housing, public benefits, and other civil law.

Partnerships

Attorneys in CVLAS's Richmond office run free workshops and information sessions on subjects such as

power of attorney A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...

and writing wills, and the organization works with local law students through the No Fault Divorce Program at the

University of Richmond School of Law The University of Richmond School of Law (abbreviated as Richmond Law) is the law school of the University of Richmond, a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Law is ranked tied for 66th in the US by ''U.S. News & World ...

. The Charlottesville office partnered with the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

to create the Sexual Assault Advocacy Fund (SAAF), whose goal is to provide support to survivors of

sexual assault on college campuses Campus sexual assault is the sexual assault, including rape, of a student while attending an institution of higher learning, such as a college or university. The victims of such assaults are more likely to be female, but any gender can be victim ...

. CVLAS is also involved in the Medical-Legal Partnership, Richmond (MLP-R), a collaboration with the

VCU Health System The VCU Medical Center (VCU Health), formerly known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), is the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, United States. As MCV, VCU Medical Center merged ...

(part of

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

), the University of Richmond School of Law, the Legal Aid Justice Center, and the Legal Information Network for Cancer. The partnership provides free legal services to patients at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU (MLP-R at Pediatrics), VCU's Massey Cancer Center (MLP-R at Massey) and VCU's Hayes Willis Center of South Richmond (MLP-R at Hayes Willis). Its mission is to "integrate legal assistance as a vital component of patient care, reduce health disparities and create a new standard of care for vulnerable, low income patients". JusticeServer, a database used to make

pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

work easier and more accessible in Virginia, was created with help from CVLAS.

History

The first legal aid organizations serving the Richmond area were the Neighborhood Legal Aid Society and the Metropolitan Richmond Legal Aid Society, both founded in 1971. They merged in 1981 to form CVLAS. Similarly, legal aid programs were formed in Charlottesville in 1967 and Petersburg in 1974. The Virginia Farm Workers Legal Assistance Project, currently the Virginia Farmworkers Program, was established in 1978, serving H2A visa holders statewide. In 2001, the legacy of these organizations consolidated into one organization, funded in part by the

, under the name Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. CVLAS and the

Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It pro ...

were awarded the Harrison Tweed Award by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

for their pro bono hotline and pro bono housing law programs. CVLAS is the only two-time winner of the award. In 2013, CVLAS received a grant from Enroll Virginia! to provide certified navigators to offer application assistance for the health insurance marketplace established under the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

Notable past attorneys

From 1985 to 1998,

Anne Holton Anne Bright Holton (born February 1, 1958) is an American lawyer and judge who served as the Virginia Secretary of Education, Secretary of Education for the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 to 2016. She is married to United States Se ...

worked as a staff attorney for the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. In 1998, she was appointed by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

to be a judge on the Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and she was Virginia's secretary of education until she resigned when her husband, U.S. Senator

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States ...

, became the 2016 Democratic vice-presidential nominee. Former Executive Director Henry W. McLaughlin has received a number of awards and honors, including the Virginia State Bar's Annual Legal Aid Award in 1994, ''

Virginia Lawyers Weekly ''Virginia Lawyers Weekly'' is a weekly newspaper published on Mondays in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It reports digests of recent court opinions handed down in Virginia’s state and federal courts. The paper also covers legal news and ...

s Leader in the Law title in 2009, and the Richmond Bar Association's Hill-Tucker Public Service Award in March 2010. He is also a fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation and of the

American College of Trial Lawyers The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) is a professional association of trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1950, the College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, especially tri ...

, the only legal aid attorney to be so honored.

Current leadership

The current executive director is Steve Dickinson, and the director of litigation is Martin D. Wegbreit, the first recipient of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Aid Award.

Doris Henderson Causey Doris Henderson Causey is an American judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. She previously worked as a legal aid attorney and was the first African-American to serve as President of the Virginia State Bar. Early life and education Causey w ...

formerly served as the managing attorney in Richmond, as well as the first African-American and first legal aid lawyer to fill the top elected post for the

Funding

CVLAS, a nonprofit

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

, receives funding from the Legal Services Corporation, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and

United Way of America United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual United Ways mobilize a sin ...

, as well as

IOLTA Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) is a method of raising money for charitable purposes, primarily the provision of civil legal services to indigent persons, through the use of interest earned on certain lawyer trust accounts. The establis ...

funds and other grants and donations. Along with the Legal Aid Justice Center, it often relies on fundraisers and private donations. One of the largest individual supporters of legal aid in central Virginia is

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955) is an American novelist, lawyer, and former politician, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the Academy of Achievement, American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1971 establishments in Virginia Legal aid in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Richmond, Virginia Organizations established in 1971