Timeline of the Legal Aid Phenomenon in the United States

based on A Brief History of Civil Legal Assistance for Low-income People by Martha Bergmark

1876
German Society of New York, first civil legal assistance for poor people in United States, was founded to protect recent German immigrants from exploitation.

1888
Ethical Culture of Society of Chicago establishes Bureau of Justice, first agency to offer legal assistance to individuals regardless of nationality, race, or sex.

1890
German Society of New York becomes the Legal Aid Society of New York.

1919
Reginald Heber Smith publishes Justice and the Poor, which espouses and promotes concept of free legal assistance for poor. This publication has a major impact on legal profession.

1920s
American Bar Association creates Special Committee on Legal Aid Work.

1960s
Foundations, such as Ford Foundation, begin to fund legal services programs as part of an overall anti-poverty effort.

1964
Passage of the Economic Opportunity Act. Marks the first time that federal funds are available for legal services to the poor. Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) formed.

1966
OEO makes 130 legal services program grants.

1968
OEO makes 260 legal services program grants.

1974
Legal Services Corporation Act is enacted on July 25, 1974. This act, supported by the Nixon administration, was introduced to make legal services “immune to political pressures . . . and a permanent part of our system of justice” by the creation of a Legal Services Corporation (LSC) that would receive funds from Congress and distribute them to local legal services programs.

1977
LSC is re-authorized for another three years.

1981
LSC is funding 325 separate grantees, covering every county in the United States, as well as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Micronesia.

1982
LSC funding is slashed from FY 1981 appropriation of $321 million to FY 1982 appropriation of $241 million.

1980s
Growth of non-LSC funding for legal services.

1992
LSC funding improvement from FY 1991 of $328 million to FY 1992 of $350 million.

1996
New Congressional restrictions imposed on LSC that prevented participation in class actions, direct or grassroots lobbying, representation of certain clients, collection of statutory attorneys’ fees, and challenge of welfare reform measures. As a result, state-level planning and coordination of services become increasingly important.

2001
LSC forms Technology Initiative Grant Program (TIG) to support and fund projects that use technology to provide and expand legal services to low-income people.

For a more indepth history see Securing Equal Justice for All: A Brief History of Civil Legal Assistance in the United States
by Alan Houseman and Linda Perle