ABA FREE LEGAL ANSWERS PROJECT
Mass Legal Answers Online
Using technology to remove the barriers of time and geography, MLAO is helping to bring Massachusetts closer to the goal of 100% access to effective assistance for essential civil legal needs.
Many low-income residents of Massachusetts qualify for free legal aid, but work, childcare, or transportation constraints can make access difficult or impossible. Some vital legal resources, including “lawyer for the day,” are only available during business hours.
Mass Legal Answers Online (MLAO) is a virtual legal clinic that enables low-income Massachusetts residents to post their legal questions to a website any time of the day or night. Pro bono attorneys answer questions directly through the website from anywhere they have internet access. MassMutual® won a 2020 Pro Bono Leader award for answering more than 75 questions during the pandemic.
Because clients can post their questions whenever it’s convenient, MLAO allows more low-income people to get answers to their legal questions. MLAO also removes the barrier for busy attorneys whose work, travel or family schedules may prevent them from volunteering at traditional clinics.
49
MassMutual attorneys registered with the site
470
Client questions answered by MassMutual volunteers
360
Hours given by MassMutual volunteers answering client questions
MLAO: Helping to Meet Essential Civil Legal Needs
An MLAO client sought legal advice when his landlord left him a notice to vacate the apartment and removed the stove in an effort to force him out. An MLAO panel attorney fielded the question and advised the client of his rights. Through the MLAO website, the attorney provided the client with language he could use in a letter to his landlord stating his rights. Promptly after the client sent the letter, the landlord reinstalled the stove. Meanwhile, the client was able to find a new, better apartment to suit his needs.
The client wrote, “I hope to never need a lawyer’s assistance again in my life, but that sure as heck was effective. Thanks so much for all your help!”