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Andrea E. Loney, Esquire – Executive Director Jim O. Stuckey, Esquire – Board Chairman

Andrea E. Loney, Esquire – Executive Director Jim O. Stuckey, Esquire – Board Chairman. Mission Statement. South Carolina Legal Services is a statewide law firm that provides civil legal services to protect the rights and represent the interests of low income South Carolinians.

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Andrea E. Loney, Esquire – Executive Director Jim O. Stuckey, Esquire – Board Chairman

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  1. Andrea E. Loney, Esquire – Executive Director • Jim O. Stuckey, Esquire – Board Chairman

  2. Mission Statement • South Carolina Legal Services is a statewide law firm that provides civil legal services to protect the rights and represent the interests of low income South Carolinians.

  3. Vision Statement • All low-income South Carolinians will have full and fair access to justice.

  4. History of Legal Services • 1965 – Office of Economic Opportunity granted funds for the Office of Legal Services programs as a part of the war on poverty • 1971 – Conflicts between legal services programs and OEO resulted in legislation to form a separate legal services corporation • 2002 – All legal services combined to form statewide South Carolina Centers for Equal Justice • 2006 – Name changed to South Carolina Legal Services

  5. Who is eligible for SCLS Services? • Low-income residents of South Carolina • Limit on income: 125% of the federal poverty level – (family of 4 = $28,813) (changes every year) up to 200% - based on certain conditions – (family of 4 - $46,100) • Limit on assets (money in bank accounts, property, etc.) • Some exceptions (some grants allow us to represent clients outside these financial limitations)

  6. What SCLS Clients Pay • No cost for work done by SCLS • Clients must cover other costs, including: • Court filing fees – if not waived by court • Costs a client is ordered to pay by a court • Guardian ad Litem fees • Service of process fees

  7. Intake Information • Basic Information: Name, Address, Etc. • Household Residents • Marital status, Disability • Employment (if any) • Income, Assets, Public Benefits • Facts of your case

  8. Additional Services for Disabled Individuals, Non-English Speakers, and Individuals with Vision and/or Hearing Impairment • Home visits • Spanish speakers in some SCLS offices • LATIS and all offices equipped to handle Spanish and other foreign languages • Braille and sign language services available

  9. What does SCLS Do? • Representation in legal proceedings • Counsel and Advice • Brief Services – Advance Directives • Community Education • Pro se divorce clinic • Brochures • Presentations to community groups • Referrals to other agencies

  10. What SCLS Does NOT Do…… • Criminal cases • Fee-generating cases

  11. Available Legal Representation

  12. To Apply -- Statewide Intake – Call Center(phone lines may be busy or will disconnect after waiting 15 minutes) Centralized Intake Office Hours of operation -- 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday.   (888) 346-5592 or (803)744-9430 OFFICE INTAKES • Referrals received from out of state legal services programs; • Emergency referrals from court staff, other service providers or community based organizations; • Applicants who are unable to communicate by telephone because of an impairment, homebound or in an institution; • Walk-ins

  13. Purpose of Statewide Website - (http://www.lawhelp.org/sc) • Provide new and innovative ways to provide legal resources and information • Expand access to and quality of legal services

  14. BENEFITS TO THE PUBLIC The statewide website offers one-stop access to: • Basic legal education on over 20 topics • Self-help information – Divorce; soon child support modification forms; petition for order of protection • Court forms • Information about South Carolina’s judicial system • Information about legal services and social service organizations in the visitor’s neighborhood

  15. South Carolina Legal Services’ Offices & Counties Served • Charleston OfficeServing: Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton, and Jasper Counties • Columbia OfficeServing: Lee, Lexington, Kershaw, Richland, and Sumter Counties • Conway OfficeServing: Georgetown, Horry, Marion, and Williamsburg Counties • Pee Dee OfficeServing: Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, and Marlboro Counties • Greenville OfficeServing: Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, and Pickens Counties • Greenwood OfficeServing: Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, and Saluda Counties • Orangeburg OfficeServing: Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, and Orangeburg Counties • Rock Hill OfficeServing: Chester, Fairfield, Lancaster, and York Counties • Spartanburg OfficeServing: Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union Counties • Intake Requests: Centralized Intake Office: 888-346-5592

  16. Sources of Funding • Legal Services Corporation • South Carolina Bar Foundation (IOLTA) • State of South Carolina – Filing Fee Add On • United Ways (Greenwood, Greenville, Spartanburg, Chester, Dillon, Lancaster, Union) • VOCA (to fund 2 DV attorneys) • Low Income Taxpayers Grant (federal taxes only) • Title III-B (to represent age 60+) • SC Help

  17. Questions???????? Thank you

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