LEGAL AID of SOUTHEAST and CENTRAL OHIO
formerly Ohio State Legal Services Association

WHO WE ARE

Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, formerly Ohio State Legal Services Association (OSLSA), was founded in 1966 by the Ohio State Bar Association. On Jan. 1, 2024, OSLSA, which operated Southeastern Ohio Legal Services, merged with the Legal Aid Society of Columbus. The merged program now provides civil legal services in 36 Ohio counties. Working in conjunction with our sister organization, the Ohio Poverty Law Center, we are committed to searching out the patterns, causes of, and solutions to the repetitive and fundamental legal problems facing low-income Ohioans and pursuing the legal recourse needed to address those problems.

Since 1966, our organizations have helped thousands of Ohio’s poor obtain and keep housing, secure public benefits, worked with families to gain and maintain economic stability, and helped domestic violence survivors to live free of fear and abuse and to obtain the resources needed to sustain themselves and their children. Our advocates also serve in leadership roles in community groups, boards, and task forces working to improve the lives of low-income residents at the local and state level.

OUR VISION & MISSION

Our Mission is to provide civil legal aid and advocacy to combat unfairness and injustice and to help people rise out of poverty. Our vision is to help create a just and fair society where we all have the opportunity to thrive and have lives free of poverty.

DIRECT LEGAL AID

Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, which formerly operated as Southeastern Ohio Legal Services (SEOLS) and Legal Aid Society of Columbus (LASC), offers direct, civil legal aid services to low-income Ohioans. Our Legal Aid program has eight offices serving 36 counties. They are located in Athens, Chillicothe, Columbus, Marion, New Philadelphia, Newark, Portsmouth and Steubenville. Our program closes more than 20,000 cases annually, in state and federal administrative, trial and appellate proceedings, helping low-income families in Southeast and Central Ohio resolve a broad range of civil legal issues.
Learn more about how our program serves Central Ohio.

Learn more about our services in Southeast Ohio.

LEGAL ISSUES WE HELP WITH

  • Public Benefits
  • Housing, including Fair Housing
  • Family Law, including Domestic Violence Survivors
  • Consumer Rights and Protection
  • Unemployment Compensation
  • Public Education Issues, including Expulsion
  • Medical Issues
  • Re-entry and Record Sealing

We provide direct legal aid to low-income Ohioans. Our clients include seniors, veterans, children, single parents, working families and people with disabilities and at-risk of homelessness.
 
Though most of the families and individuals served by legal aid programs must be low-income, certain projects may have expanded income limits. If you are seeking legal assistance or want more information about legal aid in Ohio, please call 866-529-6446 or visit our legal aid programs.

ADVOCACY

Our Mission is to provide civil legal aid and advocacy to combat unfairness and injustice and to help people rise out of poverty. Our vision is to help create a just and fair society where we all have the opportunity to thrive and have lives free of poverty.

OUR FUNDING

Our funding partners play a vital role in the work we do in our communities. We are extremely grateful for all of the support – from small individual donations to law firm gifts, as well as large grants from local, statewide, and national funders.

LEARN MORE

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