About Legal Services Vermont
Legal Services Vermont is a nonprofit legal services law firm based in Burlington. We were founded in November 1995 as Legal Services Law Line of Vermont. We serve all of Vermont.
Our services are free
We are supported by a grant from the Legal Services Corporation in Washington, D.C., and by individual donors. We are available to any low-income Vermonter with a civil legal problem.
Our priorities
We offer a wide range of civil (not criminal) legal services — from quick legal advice to full-scope representation — and community legal education for low-income Vermonters.
Each year we set priorities. They help us decide how we will use our limited resources to help as many Vermonters as possible. We also set strategies and goals that enable us to measure how well we carry out our priorities. Our top-level priorities are:
- Housing Issues: Maintain and improve housing stability and quality for low-income individuals and families
- Consumer Issues and Benefits: Improve financial stability for low-income individuals and families
- Family Issues: Preserve and protect family stability and safety
- Legal Help and Education: Empower low-income individuals and families
- Outreach: Improve access to legal assistance and information
See a list of our goals and strategies.
We work closely with our partner agency, Vermont Legal Aid, to help Vermonters.
Our core values
Access: Our goal at Legal Services Vermont is to get help to as many low-income people as possible. Even with difficult cases, or a case where we may not be able to “win,” the client will be benefited by our legal advice and guidance.
Respect and Dignity: Legal Services Vermont works in a high-volume, high-stress environment. It is crucial that we treat everyone with dignity and respect—our clients, our colleagues, and ourselves—so that everyone becomes a valued partner in our shared work.
Collaboration: Access to justice cannot be achieved by working alone. We collaborate and exchange: expertise; guidance; emotional and moral support; with each other, and with our outside partners.
Empathy: Our clients often come to us at the worst points of their lives. To do our work well, we must value the scope of their difficulties, avoid judgmental attitudes, and help them find order amid the chaos.
Impact: We help people help themselves. Even when we can’t spend a lot of time with our clients, we can have an enormous impact. We strive to give our clients the tools to solve their legal problems, and rebuild their lives.
Our mission
Legal Services Vermont works to:
- empower individuals and families
- help them learn knowledge and skills that will let them stand up for themselves, and
- enable them to take power by controlling and managing their civil legal matters.