Organizations wishing to apply for legal assistance from Community Law Center should complete and submit an Application for Legal Services along with the nonrefundable application fee and all requested information. Organizations applying for tax-exempt status must also submit a draft of IRS Form 1023. Organizations requesting assistance with a zoning, liquor license, or other administrative agency matter must also submit a copy of all documents from the agency’s file, including the applicants’ application, drawings, or other proposed documents.
Once received, the Application for Legal Services will be reviewed. A Community Law Center staff member may contact the applicant for additional information. Once an application is accepted by Community Law Center, Community Law Center will seek an appropriate staff or volunteer attorney to match with the organization. Finding a match generally takes three to four weeks after all information has been received. Community Law Center cannot guarantee placement of all cases. However, Community Law Center has a long history of successfully matching organizations with attorneys.
Beyond the nonrefundable application fee, no fees are charged for the assigned attorney’s time, but clients are responsible for direct expenses (filing fees, postage, copying expenses, etc.) related to their cases.
Community and nonprofit organizations are encouraged to read Community Law Center’s publication, How to Start a Nonprofit Organization in Maryland, which provides essential information necessary to start a nonprofit as well as to keep the organization running efficiently and effectively. Community associations are also encouraged to read Community Law Center’s manual, Revitalizing Baltimore’s Neighborhoods: Legal Tools for Community Associations, for in-depth information on strategies community associations can use to improve their neighborhoods.
Each of the cases for which CLC was retained involved complicated and controversial issues that had the potential for creating a disruptive climate both inside and outside the community. Without the CLC’s assistance, the CVCA would not have been able to realize the same level of successful resolution of these cases. It is critical to the future operation of the CVCA that the CLC continue to receive the funding that it needs to provide services at the same level that CVCA has come to know, rely upon, and appreciate.
Jennifer Erickson, President, Charles Village Civic Association
