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Who We Are
Legal Services of Eastern Michigan (LSEM) has its roots in local bar associations providing voluntary services to the poor. Flint established a legal aid society in 1951. With the advent of the War on Poverty in 1965, the federal government funded separate legal aid organizations in Genesee, Saginaw, and Bay-Midland counties. To provide the most efficient and cost effective service to clients, these organizations merged with LSEM. With the formation of the federal Legal Services Corporation and access to expansion grants in the late 1970's, LSEM expanded to include six new counties. The agency's current service area includes: Arenac, Bay, Clare, Genesee, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Lapeer, Midland and Saginaw counties.
LSEM is a highly sophisticated law office. The firm makes excellent use of technology to provide more productive, quality service. The staff's legal work is supported by an excellent law library available on the internet and one of the most complete brief banks on poverty law in the country. The highly qualified staff gets regular training locally and regionally. Advocates are assisted by an equally capable management and support staff. LSEM is also able to expand its services by enlisting the help of over 400 Pro Bono attorneys who offer clients free legal service.
The firm's priorities are those legal issues that focus on survival concerns. LSEM now specializes in the following areas of poverty law: family law, including domestic violence; housing; public benefits, including health; senior law, including elder abuse; education, and employment law, including Workfare, economic development, tax, consumer/bankruptcy, and fair housing. LSEM also promotes alternative methods of advocacy, including, research as advocacy, fundraising as advocacy, and community leadership.
The firm assists clients through community legal education, brief service, counsel and advice, as well as representation which can take the form of negotiated settlements or litigation. LSEM is proud of its ability to settle cases short of litigation.
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