Legal Aid of East Tennessee

Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Inc., is a non-profit law firm with six offices serving 26 counties in East Tennessee. Lawyers who work for Legal Aid do not charge fees to clients. Because Legal Aid receives part of its funding from the federal government, there are laws that limit who Legal Aid’s lawyers may represent and what cases they may take.

Financial Limits: In most cases, Legal Aid cannot represent someone who has income or assets over a certain amount. However, Legal Aid has two programs that can serve clients of any income level:

• People in danger from domestic violence and

• People over age 59 who live in Knox County and need no more than brief services.

Types of Cases: Federal law does not allow Legal Aid to take the following cases:

• Defending people charged with a crime,

• Claims by people who are in jail or prison, even if the case is not about a criminal matter,

• Any case that would attempt to "reform" a state or federal welfare system,

• Representing tenants being evicted from public housing because of a drug-related offense,

• Abortion rights,

• Voter registration or voting issues related to legislative redistricting,

• Legislative activity, including "grassroots lobbying" to change a law,

• Class-action suits,

• Service to non-citizens who are in the U.S. illegally, unless the service is related to helping the person avoid being the victim of domestic violence, stalking, or similar acts, and

• Some cases in which a private lawyer could collect a fee from the other person in your lawsuit.

Even if a case is not prohibited under this list, Legal Aid does not have the resources to help everyone. Therefore, Legal Aid sets case-acceptance priorities. Most Legal Aid cases involve domestic violence, denial of public benefits (TennCare, food stamps, Social Security, etc.), landlord-tenant disputes, and consumer issues. Sometimes, when Legal Aid cannot represent you directly, they can tell you where to get help or give you advice that will help you handle the case yourself.

Legal Aid also represents community groups who serve low-income clients, and Legal Aid staff is often available to present programs to community groups about individual’s legal rights.

The Knoxville office of Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Inc., is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments may be available. The office is located at 502 South Gay Street, Suite 404, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902. You may call Legal Aid at (865) 637-0484 or fax to (865) 525-1162.