Southeast Louisiana Legal Services

Who We Are:

SLLS began in 1979 with a grant from the Legal Services Corporation. Back then, SLLS gave legal help to poor people in five northshore parishes.  December 31, 2002 marked an important turning point for SLLS. That year SLLS merged with New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation (NOLAC). The merger added five New Orleans area parishes to SLLS' service area, which now covers a region roughly the size of the state of Connecticut.  SLLS now serves low-income residents in 10 southeast Louisiana Parishes: 

• Jefferson
• Livingston
• Orleans
• Plaquemines
• St. Bernard
• St. Charles
• St. Helena
• St. Tammany
• Tangipahoa
• Washington

Our main goal is to handle civil legal problems of as many poor people in our service area as we can while keeping up our standards of high-quality service.  

Our next goal is to remain involved community efforts to improve the quality of life for the poor.

To meet our goals, SLLS provides direct representation to the poor and much more. SLLS also works with community groups and social services agencies by giving up-to-date information about legal issues affecting the poor in Louisiana. SLLS also works with  other legal advocacy organizations around the state and around the nation on litigation projects and educational efforts to protect the legal rights of the poor and to improve their lives.

SLLS has historically faced rising demand for its services without a corresponding increase in resources. SLLS responded to the community's greater need for legal aid by using new technology, seeking pro bono help, developing new approaches to the delivery of legal services, and by widening our funding base.  

Still, SLLS does not have enough resources to handle all of the problems that come to us.  SLLS prioritizes certain types of cases, and different offices may handle different types of cases.  For some problems, SLLS may only be able to give advice or brief service.  For other problems, SLLS may be able to provide extended representation.  For more information about the kind of cases we handle in general, click here.  SLLS tries to identify community resources, both legal and non-legal, which may help people with problems we cannot handle.