Through
2007, the Maryland Legal Assistance Network (MLAN) operated as a unique collaborative effort among Maryland legal services providers to improve the delivery of legal services.
The Project's goal was to increase access to justice in civil justice matters through coordination and support of the state's legal services providers, lawyer referral programs, and the private bar. It
was a project of the Maryland Legal Services Corporation.
What
was the MLAN project? The Project consisted of five integrated and interconnected
components. The system included:
-
Statewide Intake for Legal Services -
a single 800 number to help find the right legal services program that will help low- and moderate-income persons for free.
-
Legal help on the web and public access -
legal information website (www.peoples-law.org)
with information on topics such as: family law, consumer law, landlord/tenant
law and government benefits and help to represent yourself in court or to find a lawyer.
-
Password-Protected website for lawyers -
a special website (www.mdjustice.org)
for the staff of legal services providers. It continues to serve as a private place to share non-client information and tips to improve their ability to help others.
-
Support Self-help Legal Programs
- work to support the programs around the state that help you to represent
yourself in court. MLAN worked on projects like the
Divorce Quizzes to help people to better understand the law of divorce and to decide if they should represent themselves.
-
Limited Legal Help - work with the private bar and legal services providers to come up with ways to make legal help more affordable. We also
worked on a plan to help you find an attorney to handle part of your
case, if you cannot afford (or do not want) an attorney to represent you in the full case.
MLAN
was supported by grants from:
- Open Society Institute (OSI), Program on Law and Society and OSI-Baltimore provided a three-year start up grant to develop the project in the late fall
of 1998.
- The Maryland Legal Services Corporation
contributed significant in-kind and some additional support to the Project.
- The Maryland Administrative Office of the
Courts provided the operational funding for the Project.
- The
Project drew from and built upon the expertise and work of the
legal services providers in the state by involving providers in
the design, development, implementation and management of the
network.
Who
supports MLAN projects now?
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