NCBA Advocates For LSC Funding

North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) leadership will be in Washington on April 25-27 to meet with the North Carolina congressional delegation in conjunction with ABA Day in Washington. During the three-day conference, organized annually by the American Bar Association, President-Elect Caryn McNeill and Executive Director Jason Hensley will advocate on issues important to lawyers and the legal system including continued congressional support of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).

The White House Office of Management and Budget released a proposed FY18 federal budget on March 16 recommending the elimination of the LSC. The NCBA is committed to the support of North Carolina’s legal services providers, including Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC), Legal Services of Southern Piedmont and Pisgah Legal Services.

In most parts of the state, LANC is the only legal services provider for low-income people. In North Carolina alone, 2.2 million residents or 23 percent of the population qualifies for legal aid. In 2016, LANC received $11.6 million in federal LSC funding, which accounts for about 50 percent of LANC’s total funding.

Federal and state support is crucial to LANC’s work to provide legal services to the state’s most vulnerable citizens, including children, seniors, the disabled, the abused, veterans, and the unemployed.

LSC has had bipartisan support in Congress since its inception in 1974 because it embodies the principles of fairness and justice, principles that should stand without regard for someone’s income or economic status.

The NCBA encourages its members to contact members of your congressional delegation and express your support for continued funding of Legal Services Corporation.