Services
Family Law
Child custody, dependency
Elder Law
Consumer
Bankruptcy & more
Am I eligible for services?
Eligibility is determined by your monthly income, your current assets, your family size, the type of legal problem you have, where you live, and certain other factors.
Applicants must meet financial and asset guidelines to be eligible for services in most cases.
LASP continues to help with legal problems caused by Hurricane Ida
(Updated Sept. 2024) LASP continues to help low-income survivors of Hurricane Ida in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. The legal problems stemming from the storm are expected to continue for years. Call 877-429-5994 Monday-Friday. 9 a.m.-1 p.m., or apply online 24/7. Visit lasp.org/hurricane-ida or our website news article.
Federal disaster declaration: Bedford, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and York counties were part of the federal disaster declaration made in September 2021. In June 2022, Legal Services Corporation announced that LASP would receive a disaster relief grant to help low-income residents of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties with continuing civil legal problems related to Hurricane Ida.
LASP continues to serve clients and accept new clients!
To apply for help with a civil legal aid problem, call our Helpline: 877-429-5994 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Or apply online 24/7.
Phones at all local LASP offices are being answered or checked during regular business hours, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. (However, local offices are currently closed to the public.)
Free legal outreach: virtual, in-person and hybrid: lasp.org/events.
Walk-in intake is canceled at all offices. Some offices are scheduling appointments on a limited basis. Call a local office to determine availability. Please see lasp.org/locations.
Email or call your attorney if you have questions about your case. When advocates are working remotely, voicemail is being checked.
(Updated March 12, 2024)
PA HOMEOWNER ALERT! Applications reopen Monday, March 18, 2024 for the Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund (PAHAF)! Funds are limited! APPLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP) may be able to help people with their applications in Bucks, Chester, Delaware & Montgomery counties. Helpline: 877-429-5994 Monday-Friday, or lasp.org/apply.
Info + links: https://www.lasp.org/news/pa-homeowner-assistance-fund-pahaf
(Updated Sept. 2024)
Apply for the Pennsylvania Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program by Dec. 31, 2024!
Read more: News article + links.
In response to systemic racism: A letter from Shawn Boehringer, Executive Director, and Kesha James, Deputy Director for Advocacy
June 25, 2020
In Response to Systemic Racism
Letter from Shawn Boehringer, Executive Director, and Kesha James, Deputy Director for Advocacy
To read the letter, which was published in LASP’s June 2020 e-news, please see lasp.org/news.
PA Legal Aid Network (PLAN)’s full Call to Action on Systemic Racism, issued on June 2, 2020, is also at lasp.org/news.
Made a difference and make your Annual Gift today.
Make your Annual Gift by Dec. 31, 2024
The services LASP provides have a serious impact on individuals' lives, actively work to remove barriers to legal justice and education, and make our communities safer and more prosperous places to live.
By giving to LASP, you make it possible for us to continue helping our low-income neighbors and expand our capacity to take on more cases.
Every dollar given expands our ability to assist low-income community members and makes justice more equally accessible in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.
Make your Annual Gift today. Thank you!
Target Circle giving campaign
Thank you!
Thank you so much for voting for us in the Target Circle Giving Program. Voting closed Dec. 31, 2023. LASP received 166,977 votes and $2,977.28 to help us further our mission, with help from your generous votes.
Read more at lasp.org/ways-to-give.
Annual Report
Remembrance, Resilience, Responsiveness, Renewal: A pertinent framework
LASP’s 2020-22 Annual Report is now published!
Read it at lasp.org/annual-reports.
Or download, view or print it here (20-page PDF)
Compressed (smaller file size)
LASP outreach events are free. Some are all-virtual, while others are in-person, or hybrid (your choice: virtual or in-person). Check event listing carefully. lasp.org/events
Free legal workshops, clinics and outreach events: Know your rights!
Check lasp.org/events for free legal information events. In partnership with other local and regional nonprofits and state legislators, LASP attorneys discuss current legal topics, usually in about an hour:
Unemployment Compensation
Clean Slate, expungements and pardons
Foreclosures and evictions
Landlord-tenant law
Veterans benefits, discharge upgrades and more
Chester County Mobile Home Tax Reassessment Project
For organizations wishing to schedule a training with a LASP attorney, contact Erica Briant, Director of Community Engagement & Training, at ebriant@lasp.org.
Join our team!
Visit our careers page to learn about current employment opportunities at Legal Aid of Southeastern PA! Current opportunities include openings for attorneys, paralegals, fiscal team and administrative team.
For most positions, LASP welcomes applicants with a range of experience levels!
In Memoriam & tribute: Harvey F. Strauss
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Harvey Strauss, who dedicated his career to LASP & its predecessor program in Montgomery County. Read LASP’s tribute: lasp.org/news, or lasp.org/news/in-memoriam-harvey-strauss-7-2023
(July 12, 2023)
Legal Aid of Southeastern PA was founded Jan. 1, 2001 when four long-standing legal aid programs in Buck, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties joined forces. lasp.org/fete.
19th annual Trial Run 5K Run/Walk!
Join us as a sponsor, runner or walker on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024! Costumes optional!
LASP’s Veterans Advocacy Project offers trauma-informed help geared to veterans’ needs.
Veterans Advocacy Helpline
Check out the Veterans page on our website for information on how LASP can help veterans. Links also are provided to other local, state and federal resources helpful to veterans. lasp.org/veterans
Veterans in Bucks, Chester, Delaware or Montgomery counties can call LASP’s Veterans Advocacy Helpline at 610-283-0884.
In addition, LASP’s Regional Helpline at 877-429-5994 is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., or apply online 24/7 at lasp.org/apply.
Join our pro bono program and make a difference in YOUR community!
Pro bono opportunities for attorneys, paralegals, law students
YOU can directly expand access to justice. Volunteer to help Legal Aid of Southeastern PA clients.
Learn more: lasp.org/pro-bono. LASP has volunteer opportunities in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, reflecting each county’s needs. Free trainings are available to give you the confidence and information you take a case outside your regular practice area; contact a pro bono coordinator for more information.
New! Sign up for a SPECIFIC volunteer activity at lasp.org/pro-bono-opportunities to see SPECIFIC opportunities and sign up.
THANK YOU, pro bono volunteers, for your dedicated service in all four counties, throughout the year!
Click to read current and past issues of e-news.
Monthly e-news
LASP’s informative e-newsletter is published 11-12 times per year.
Check out our current issue!
In each monthly e-news, you'll find:
What's new at LASP & the 4 counties
New developments & updates on programs to help residents with low incomes
Current pro bono opportunities & volunteer features
Photos from recent outreaches & events
Upcoming free legal clinics
Job announcements
& more!
To subscribe, please fill out the form at lasp.org/enews.
Current issue and archive: lasp.org/enews
Swallowtail butterfly on butterfly bush
Check out resource pages in some of our practice areas
Domestic Violence
LASP helps with Protection from Abuse orders and domestic violence in Pennsylvania. Learn how to apply for help in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties and find additional resources at lasp.org/domestic-violence.
Clean Slate 3.0 goes into effect Feb. 12, 2024.
Details + flyer: lasp.org/news/updated-clean-slate-law-expands-eligibility-for-record-sealing
Record-clearing paves the way for improved job opportunities and increased access to education and housing.
Legal Aid of Southeastern PA is helping people clear their records in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. Our Community Engagement Unit may be able to help you with:
Expungements
Clean Slate (limited access to records)
Pardons
LASP’s webpage, https://www.lasp.org/expungements gives information and resources to help you start the process in clearing your record through Pennsylvania’s expungement, Clean Slate or pardon process.
Clean Slate 3.0 information and flyer (updated Feb. 6, 2024) is on our News page!
Housing
LASP is helping people in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties who face the threat of eviction, mortgage foreclosure, and/or other housing problems.
Renters and homeowners in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties can contact the LASP Helpline at 877-429-5994 Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The sooner you contact LASP, the more prepared your case will be for the hearing date.
Important news
PAHAF applications reopen March 18, 2024 to help homeowners impacted by COVID-19 (Updated March 12, 2024)
Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program through the Pennsylvania Dept. of Revenue: Apply by June 30, 2024 (Updated March 4, 2024)
Landlord-tenant
Eviction
Habitability (needs repairs in order to be safe to live in)
Public or subsidized housing
Rent-to-own
Homeownership
Mortgage foreclosure
Section 8 housing
Reverse mortgages
Tangled title
Public Benefits
LIHEAP applications open Nov. 1, 2023 - April 5, 2024; homeowners and renters can get help with winter heating bills
Applications for the 2023-24 LIHEAP season CLOSED on April 5, 2024 | LASP News article + flyers (updated May 2024; orginally posted Nov. 6, 2023)
Changes to Medicaid, Medical Assistance and CHIP: You MUST renew every year! Update info with PA DHS!
(LASP News article + flyers in English and Spanish) (March 25, 2023)
SNAP (food stamp) benefits are changing: You will get only 1 payment per month starting in March 2023
(LASP News article + flyer with information and resources) (Jan. 19, 2023)
Legal Aid of Southeastern PA helps clients gain access to public benefits that may have been denied. ‘
Hurricane Ida: Civil legal problems related to Hurricane Ida
Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
Medical Assistance (Medicaid) or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
Supplemental Security Income (SSI, or Social Security)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, or cash assistance)
Unemployment Compensation (UC)
and more
Veterans
LASP can help veterans with:
VA benefits (including: initial applications and appeals, survivor’s benefits, and overpayments)
Military discharge upgrades
All of our other civil legal aid service areas
Visit lasp.org/veterans for more details and for potentially helpful local, state and federal resources.
LASP in the news
As Climate Change Fuels Disasters, Legal Aid Needs Grow
by Alison Knezevich | Law360 | Sept. 27, 2024 | https://bit.ly/Law360-9-27-2024
by Rachel Ravina | Pottstown Mercury, Lansdale Reporter & Norristown Times Herald | Nov. 21, 2023 | https://bit.ly/Mercury-11-21-2023
by Rachel Ravina & Evan Brandt | Pottstown Mercury, Lansdale Reporter & Norristown Times Herald | Nov. 19, 2023 & in print Nov. 20 | https://bit.ly/Mercury-11-19-2023
by Kenny Cooper | WHYY News | Nov. 16, 2023 | https://bit.ly/WHYY-11-16-2023
by Rachel Ravina | Pottstown Mercury, Lansdale Reporter & Norristown Times Herald | Nov. 14, 2023 | https://bit.ly/Mercury-11-14-2023
Federal lawsuit filed to stop eviction of unhoused encampment in Pottstown
by Kim Hudson | CBS Philadelphia | Nov. 13, 2023 | https://cbsn.ws/3FXZMUs
by Rachel Ravina | Pottstown Mercury, Lansdale Reporter & Norristown Times Herald | Nov. 13, 2023 | https://bit.ly/Mercury-11-13-2023
by Rachel Ravina | Lansdale Reporter, Pottstown Mercury, Norristown Times Herald | Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023 | Page 1 | https://bit.ly/Mercury-11-5-2023
Untold Valor Podcast (22 minutes)
Produced by Voice and Vision, Inc. | July 27, 2023 | https://bit.ly/Untold-Valor-podcast-7-2023
Richard A.J. Prebil, LASP Veterans Advocacy Project Supervising Attorney, shares insights into LASP's work with veterans
Obituary for Harvey F. Strauss
Philadelphia Inquirer | July 12, 2023 | https://legcy.co/3DbkEq4
In Memoriam and Tribute: Harvey F. Strauss, longtime LASP Co-Executive Director & Montgomery County Legal Aid Service Executive Director | July 12, 2023 | LASP News page: https://www.lasp.org/news/in-memoriam-harvey-strauss-7-2023
by Kelly Phillips Erb | Forbes | Daily Cover | June 17, 2023 | https://bit.ly/Forbes-6-17-2023
Fearing a ‘sweep,’ people living homeless in Norristown wait to be cast out of encampments
by Alfred Lubrano | Philadelphia Inquirer | Sunday, May 28, 2023 | Page 1 | https://bit.ly/Inquirer-5-28-2023
Norristown, PECO planning to sweep homeless encampment
by Kenny Cooper and Emily Rizzo | WHYY | May 25, 2023 | https://bit.ly/WHYY-5-25-2023
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"Pa Supreme Court greenlights Bucks County eviction stay program"
by Jo Ciavaglia | Bucks County Courier Times | Aug. 2, 2021 | bit.ly/3xshxos
Excerpt: Bucks County can continue an administrative order granting temporary stay on some evictions for nonpayment of rent.
"PA Supreme Court Greenlights County Court Order To Reduce Evictions"
by Tom Sofield | LevittownNow.com | Aug. 2, 2021 | bit.ly/3xny1y1
Mobile homes are overtaxed, and Chester County program brings relief
Philadelphia Inquirer story by Michaelle Bond: bit.ly/2STzkUF | Jan. 4, 2020