Neighborhood Legal Services is a cornerstone of legal advocacy for low-income residents across Los Angeles County, providing comprehensive free legal assistance to combat the effects of poverty. Specializing in critical areas such as housing rights, healthcare access, and disaster relief, the organization stands out through its deep community integration, multilingual outreach, and commitment to systemic change through both individual representation and high-impact litigation.
With a mission to expand access to health, opportunity, and justice, NLSLA employs a multifaceted approach that includes on-the-ground services at courthouse self-help centers, medical-legal partnerships with healthcare providers, and proactive policy advocacy. The organization assists nearly 175,000 individuals and families annually, focusing on clients disproportionately affected by poverty, including tenants facing eviction, survivors of domestic violence, immigrants, workers, and those navigating public benefits systems.
Services Offered
- Housing & Homelessness Prevention (eviction defense, foreclosure prevention, rent control, Section 8 discrimination)
- Domestic Violence & Family Law (protective orders, child custody, divorce)
- Public Benefits Assistance
- Immigration Legal Services
- Clean Slate Initiatives (record expungement)
- Workers’ Rights
- Consumer Debt & Bankruptcy
- Education Rights
- Healthcare Access (health insurance disputes, coverage problems, medical-legal partnerships)
- Disaster Assistance (FEMA claims, unemployment benefits, housing issues post-disaster)
- Self-Help Legal Access Centers (in-person guidance, referrals, legal workshops)
- Legal Clinics & Workshops
- Consumer Rights Advocacy
Serving all of Los Angeles County, NLSLA offers support in multiple languages including Spanish, Armenian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Russian. The organization has achieved significant milestones, such as securing groundbreaking settlements for wildfire survivors and advocating for the right to counsel for tenants facing eviction.
