The Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, a program of the University of Maine School of Law, is a small legal services provider, in which clients are represented by “student attorneys,” law students specially licensed by the state and federal courts to provide legal services to low-income clients. The student attorneys practice under the supervision of fully-licensed attorney faculty members.

The Clinic represents low-income individuals with legal cases in Southern Maine courts (Cumberland, York, Sagadahoc, and Androscoggin counties) for most kinds of civil, criminal, juvenile, and family law matters. The Clinic represents clients at both the trial and appellate levels. The Clinic asks clients to pay a $10 administrative fee. In some cases, clients may be asked to pay court and other significant costs. The Clinic does not otherwise charge for its services.

Individuals qualify for our services when:

  • Their household gross income falls within our financial guidelines;
  • The court is within our geographic service area; and
  • We have openings for new clients.

Because our resources are very limited, the Clinic cannot accept every case that meets our eligibility requirements. Therefore, we determine whether to accept a case based upon other factors, such as the availability of assistance from other legal services providers, the client’s need for legal representation in the matter, the type of legal issue presented, and the potential learning experience for the students.

If you are seeking legal help from the Clinic, you can call us between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday, to see if we have any current openings:

Other Important Information about the Clinic

  • We cannot give legal advice or information over the phone.
  • We do not provide services on a “walk-in” basis.
  • We do not maintain a waiting list of potential clients.

Links

We suggest you try these links to find other services that may be available to you: