MLSA’s Rural Incubator Project for Lawyers (RIPL) has been selected by the Rural Justice Collaborative (RJC) Advisory Council as one of nine national Rural Innovation Sites to serve as a model for other rural justice programs throughout the nation. Established in 2018, RIPL aims to reduce the justice gap that prevents low and moderate income …
Providence launches first hospital-based medical-legal partnership in Montana
In early 2020, Providence Montana and the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA), with support from the Montana Healthcare Foundation, launched a medical-legal partnership (MLP) to provide support to patients in need of civil-legal assistance. Through this program, low-income patients can receive free legal help in areas of law including housing, benefits, insurance, education and employment, …
In States Like Montana, the Prescription for Healthier Patients May be Lawyers (Billings Gazette)
In states like Montana, the prescription for healthier patients may be lawyers. “Without legal help along the way, the woman would have just been like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’” Kallie Dale-Ramos, Medical-Legal Partnership Staff Attorney.
MLSA’s Eviction Work in the News
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, thousands of Montanans have found themselves struggling to pay their rent and facing the possibility of eviction. MLSA has worked hard to help people access the services they need to avoid eviction – including legal information on how to access rental assistance and eviction moratoriums, and legal assistance in the …
DIY Estate Planning Essential for MT Tribal Members
HELENA, Mont. – COVID-19 is underscoring the importance of ensuring that people’s estates are in order, but estate planning can be be tricky for tribal members. That’s why Montana Legal Services Association and the Indian Land Tenure Foundation have partnered to develop a do-it-yourself online form. Many tribal members own land through a trust in …
Utility work, possible redevelopment displaces Troy renters (The Western News)
Natasha Chapel was at a loss when she received her termination of tenancy notice. A resident of Troy Mobile Home Park, Chapel got by on less than $800 a month. When she received the notice in early June, she suddenly faced the cost of moving her trailer and finding new, affordable housing in just two …
Helena’s 20 Under 40: Mēghan Scott
Lawyers often play a critical role in society. Perhaps nobody knows that better than Mēghan Scott, AmeriCorps’ project director of Justice for Montanans and the Montana Legal Services Association’s program coordinator of the Rural Incubator Project for Lawyers. In her role with the Justice for Montanans Project, Scott oversees about two dozen AmeriCorps members helping …
Program Brings Civil Legal Help to Rural Montanans
HELENA, Mont. — Legal documents can be hard to parse, and for rural Montanans, and it also can be hard to find help filling out those documents. The Court Help Connect Program assists people representing themselves on civil legal issues, by connecting them virtually with folks at the State Law Library who can answer their …
MLSA Attorney Receives National American Bar Association Award
MLSA is proud to announce that MLSA staff attorney Kallie Dale-Ramos is the 2020 recipient of the American Bar Association’s SCLAID Centennial Access to Justice Award, which seeks to honor new attorneys for their innovative and exceptional achievements on behalf of their clients and for advancing access to justice. Ms. Dale-Ramos received this award in …
Helena women honored for work with nonprofits
Attorney Sara Berg received the YWCA Woman of the Year Award Wednesday at her firm Browning, Kaleczyk, Berry & Hoven. Berg, who specializes in civil defense litigation and family law, was recognized as an 18-year pro bono volunteer with Montana Legal Services Association. The association provides free civil legal aid to low income individuals with …