Without legislative action, civil legal services in Maine will be cut by 28% this year. Sustaining and increasing the state's investment in civil legal aid is essential to ensuring access to justice and maintaining strong judicial and economic systems across our state.

Civil legal aid helps Mainers:

• stay safe from domestic and financial abuse and neglect

• remain housed and avoid eviction

• get and keep jobs

• maintain custody of their children

• access health care

• and much more

In most civil cases, there is no right to an attorney. This means that many Mainers who cannot afford a lawyer must face serious legal problems alone.

Civil legal issues—such as eviction, domestic violence, and financial exploitation—can destabilize families, workplaces, and communities. Investing in civil legal aid helps people navigate these challenges early, preventing deeper crises and reducing long-term costs to the state.

Maine already has a strong and coordinated civil legal aid system made up of seven core providers who work efficiently to serve people across the state. However, this system has long been underfunded, leaving thousands of Mainers with critical legal needs unmet.

Right now, Maine lawmakers are developing the state's supplemental budget. We must urge them to convert funding that will expire this summer into ongoing funding to avoid significant cuts to legal services. Additional investment is also needed to help close Maine’s justice gap and ensure that people across our state can access the legal help they need.

We know that investing in civil legal aid will:

• move Maine closer to fulfilling the promise of equal justice for all

• bring millions of dollars into Maine’s economy and generate significant cost savings for the state

• make our courts work more efficiently and effectively

Join the Justice Action Group and help make the case for investing in civil legal aid in Maine. Please take a few minutes to write to your legislators and share why you support this critical investment.

Maine lawmakers need to hear from us. When they hear from their constituents, they know an issue matters.

Thank you for taking action and sending a letter to your legislators.