Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc.
 
Serving the Tennessee counties of Shelby, Fayette, Lauderdale and Tipton.
Hablas Espanol? Póngase en contacto con nosotros en el (901) 523-8822.

2009 – A Year of Challenges, Opportunities and Successes

Harrison D. McIver2010 will mark the 40th anniversary of Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc. as a partner in the quest for equal access and justice for all!

Reflecting on our journey through 2009 will set the stage for our work and activities for 2010. It was a year in which the recessed economy left many of our neighbors in a world of economic hurt. It was a year in which the unemployment rate was the worst in a quarter of a century, when people not only lost their jobs, but also lost their homes. Foreclosures hit record highs in 2009 and predictions for the first half of 2010 don’t paint a brighter picture in the near future for the people of Memphis and Shelby County, Tipton, Fayette and Lauderdale counties.

But all is not bleak at MALS. 2009 brought some great and memorable highlights. Fortunately, that best-of-times list is longer than the worst of times.
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Over forty years ago in the wake of the tragedy of Dr. Martin Luther King’s death, that beset the Memphis, Shelby County community and indeed the world, 30 members of the legal profession in Memphis, Shelby County, created the Neighborhood Legal Service Project. Two years later the NLSP gave way to the chartering of Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc. (MALS).

Today MALS is the principal provider of civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and the elderly in Southwestern Tennessee, anchored by  Memphis, Shelby County,  with three other counties, Tipton, Fayette, and Lauderdale, comprising its four-county service area. MALS has two offices – one in downtown Memphis, which serves Shelby County, and the Covington office that serves the three smaller rural counties. Our case acceptance priorities include issues relating to Family and Children; Housing and Real Property; Consumer Issues , Individual and Civil Rights; Health and Income Maintenance and Seniors.

With more than 200,000 of the most vulnerable residents in our service area eligible for assistance, MALS is dedicated to helping those who cannot afford legal counsel navigate the legal system in order to safeguard their rights under the law.

Please read to learn more about MALS, the services we provide and how you can volunteer and/or support the work we do on behalf of those who otherwise would have no voice.
MALS