South Carolina Legal Services

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

We have several substantive law units in our law firm. Here are the areas of law we serve and what we do in those areas.
H O U S I N G
• Defending homeowners facing foreclosure
• Preventing homelessness by defending against unlawful eviction and
termination of housing benefits
• Enforcing fair housing laws to remedy discrimination based on race, gender,
national origin, familial status, and disability
• Taking action to ensure that the landlord make necessary repairs to provide
tenants with decent and safe housing

E L D E R L A W
• Helping seniors defend their legal rights, preserve their safety net, and ensure
their respected place in the community
• Representing seniors in a comprehensive range of legal issues, including
landlord-tenant disputes, consumer protection issues and mortgage problems
• Helping and executing advanced directives and appointments of
conservators and guardians
• Protecting seniors from abuse and neglect

E M P L O Y M E N T
• Protecting laid-off workers' unemployment benefits to help them and their
families avoid homelessness, hunger, and financial disaster
• Helping workers overcome legal barriers to a job, such as a criminal record
or driver's license
• Enforcing workers' rights to a safe workplace, free from discrimination
and retaliation
• Recovering workers' hard-earned wages when unlawfully withheld by
unscrupulous employers

F A R M W O R K E R R I G H T S ( H - 2 B )
• Representing migrant and seasonal workers in employment matters related
to violations of farmworker protections and minimum wage laws
• Helping workers who are victims of discrimination and violent crimes
• Obtaining safe and sanitary housing for workers
• Educating workers about their rights and getting them the minimum
protection they are entitled to under the law

F E D E R A L I N C O M E T A X
• Assisting with lien removals which improve clients' credit
• Representing parents and grandparents in cases where the other parent
improperly claims children as dependents on tax returns
• Negotiating for forbearance or reduction of clients' debt owed to IRS
• Correcting record for ID theft victims and helping obtain refund
• Disputing false income claims by employers which eliminate tax debt

F A M I L Y
• Ensuring safety, stability and security for families
• Correcting or establishing a birth certificate to allow persons to work, vote,
and receive pensions
• Establishing custody or adoption to ensure that a child has a stable home
and allows the custodian to make medical and education decisions
• Obtaining visitation so that children have quality time with parents
• Securing child support and alimony to alleviate the need for public resources
• Keeping children out of the foster care system and in stable families

P U B L I C B E N E F I T S
• Obtaining and maintaining income for disabled and low-income families
• Protecting the rights of the poor and disabled at home and on the job
• Helping the poor and disabled afford food and medical care
• Assististing clients in self-sufficiency planning
• Partnering with other community organizations to reach and
educate the low-income population

E D U C A T I O N
• Securing a good education - a key to breaking the cycle of poverty and
improving the workforce and quality of life
• Preparing students to be competitive for the best jobs and achieve the
American dream
• Ensuring that children with special needs are identified early and receive
appropriate help and resources in order to succeed
• Helping families that struggle with homelessness keep their children in school

C O N S U M E R
• Averting and reverting auto repossession to ensure that people can attend
work, school, doctor appointments and other necessary life affairs
• Helping individuals dealing with credit card and student loan debt
• Enforcing contracts, warranties and public utilities rights of clients...

Testimonials

Because we are a law firm, we must safeguard our clients' privacy and respect the attorney-client privilege. However, we have a number of testimonials and videos on our website at sclegal.org that we can share with Midlands Gives participants.