Legal Services Corporation

Established in 1974, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) promotes equal access to justice and provides high quality civil legal assistance to low-income individuals. LSC is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation. It collaborates with LSC affiliates and other entities in Illinois, such as bar associations and law schools. With this X-Grant, LSC hosts a symposium in Chicago in the spring of 2024 to mark the organization’s 50th anniversary and to address the current challenges to low-income residents in accessing civil legal assistance.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is the nation’s largest funder of civil legal assistance for low-income Americans. An independent nonprofit corporation established in 1974, LSC promotes equal access to justice by awarding funds appropriated by Congress to legal services providers through a competitive grants process, providing training and technical assistance to legal services programs, and conducting reviews and program visits to ensure program quality and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. This award enables LSC to produce a new national report on the nation’s “justice gap,” documenting the difference between the need for civil legal services among low-income individuals and families and the resources available to meet that need. The study will provide actionable data for LSC, its grantees, and other access to justice stakeholders and advocates to use when providing services and seeking resources to close the justice gap.