Legal Services Corporation

Legal Services Corporation
FoundedJuly 25, 1974; 50 years ago (1974-07-25)
FounderUnited States Congress
Type501(c)(3)
FocusPromoting equal access to justice and providing grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans
Location
OriginsLSC Act of 1974
Area served
United States
MethodMany state-level grantee programs
Key people
  • Ronald S. Flagg, President
  • John G. Levi, Chair of Board of Directors
Budget
$560 million federal appropriation (2023)
Websitewww.lsc.gov

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a publicly funded, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established by the United States Congress. It seeks to ensure equal access to justice under the law for all Americans by providing funding for civil legal aid to those who otherwise would be unable to afford it. The LSC was created in 1974 with bipartisan congressional sponsorship and the support of the Nixon administration, and LSC is funded through the congressional appropriations process.

LSC has a board of eleven directors, appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, that set LSC policy. By law the board is bipartisan; no more than six members can come from the same party.[1] LSC has a president and other officers who implement those policies and oversee the corporation's operations.[2]

LSC is the largest single funder of civil legal aid in the country, distributing more than 90 percent of its total funding to 132 independent nonprofit legal aid programs.[3]

For Fiscal Year 2023, Congress appropriated $560 million to LSC to fund civil legal aid.[4]

  1. ^ "Board of Directors Profiles". Legal Services Corporation. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  2. ^ "Office of the President". Legal Services Corporation. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  3. ^ "LSC Funding | LSC – Legal Services Corporation: America's Partner for Equal Justice". Legal Services Corporation. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  4. ^ H.R. 2617, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023".