The Members of the Legal Aid Community

Primary members of the legal aid community are private non-profit law firms that provide free representation to the poor. These programs are usually divided into two groups: those that receive funding from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and those that don't. Programs that receive LSC funding must abide by certain advocacy restrictions (see A Timeline of the Legal Aid Phenomenon later for a explanation of the LSC restrictions).

Other primary funders include state and local bar foundations. Bar foundations are the charitable arm of state and local bar associations.

There are also a number of national or regional "back-up" centers that provide substantive support and training to legal aid programs. Here is a list of national support centers. In a number of states, there are also state based back-up centers. National support centers tend to focus on a particular area of poverty law practice and state support centers tend to be more broadly focused on all areas of poverty law practice in that state. None of these backup centers are LSC funded.

Recently some state bar associations (lawyer groups) have gotten more involved in the legal aid community by establishing Access to Justice centers. These ATJ programs take on many forms with some focusing on supporting technology in legal aid programs.