Northwestern Legal Services

Since 1969, Northwestern Legal Services (NWLS) has provided free civil legal services to the low-income residents of northwestern Pennsylvania. NWLS serves ten (10) counties: Cameron, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Venango, and Warren.  We have six (6) offices located throughout our service area.  Our Erie office is our main office and serves all of Erie County, which has the largest population.  The Meadville office serves Crawford County; the Franklin office serves Venango County; the Hermitage office serves Mercer County; the Bradford office covers McKean and Potter Counties; and the Warren office covers Cameron, Elk, Forest, and Warren Counties.  

Each NWLS office is staffed with well-trained and knowledgeable attorneys and/or paralegals who provide direct representation and counsel, telephone advice, and brief services to our clients.  Anyone interested in our services must apply by phone or online on our website.  The Central Intake Unit (CIU) is composed of Intake Screeners who answer calls to our New Client Line and screen applicants for eligibility.  There are also CIU attorneys who are dedicated to just giving telephone advice to our entire service area.

NWLS has a Board of Directors composed of private attorneys and client-eligible persons who are from and represent the counties in our service area.  Client board members provide valuable insight into the most pressing civil legal needs that are affecting their respective communities.  The board takes an active role in helping to set the priorities for the types of cases we accept.  

NWLS is a private nonprofit legal aid organization that receives funding from federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private donations.  Most of the funding that we receive through government grants is restricted specifically for cases, which means we rely on donations for non-casework like community outreach and education, donor communications, and creating visibility for our services within the communities we serve.  

Our staff regularly engages in outreach and community education activities to keep people informed of changes to laws that may affect them, to help people understand their legal rights and avoid legal pitfalls, and to stay connected to the communities that we serve.  We routinely accept requests to speak about our services and specific legal topics or to provide legal information materials at local fairs and events.  NWLS provides internship and education opportunities for high school, undergrad, and law school students with a career goal in nonprofit work and public interest law.  NWLS also has partnerships with other local organizations and agencies to refer clients or to help execute specialized grants that we may receive.  

To learn more about our organization, please visit www.nwls.org.