Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project
The Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) is a statewide civil legal aid organization that strengthens access to justice by mobilizing volunteer attorneys and trained community members to assist people in Maine who cannot afford legal help. Since 1983, VLP has built a responsive, high-impact volunteer network that delivers free legal assistance through clinics, online brief advice, courthouse-based support, and full pro bono representation. VLP operates a broad range of programs designed to meet people where they are. Our clinic model offers brief advice and limited representation in family law, workers’ rights, small claims, and other targeted areas. Free Legal Answers Maine (FLAME) provides an online entry point for civil legal questions, enabling licensed attorneys to offer guidance statewide. The Court House Assistance Program (CHAP) places volunteers directly in courthouses to help self-represented litigants navigate forms, procedures, and time-sensitive issues. The Maine Homeless Legal Project and other short-term pro bono opportunities extend support into community settings where legal problems often surface first. Volunteers and staff address civil matters that shape safety, stability, and economic security—including divorce and parental rights, protection from abuse, debt and foreclosure, bankruptcy, wage and hour issues, unemployment, Social Security Disability, and simple wills and probate. Community and student volunteers expand this reach by conducting intake, supporting client navigation, and helping administer statewide clinics. For more than forty years, VLP has served as Maine’s pro bono infrastructure—an overlay that strengthens the civil justice system by coordinating volunteers, expanding capacity where legal needs are greatest, and ensuring that people marginalized by poverty have a practical pathway to resolve civil legal problems. More information is available at www.vlp.org.
