Legal Aid does not accept cases directly from the public but by court appointment only. Staff attorneys at the Jefferson County Family Courts in Birmingham and Bessemer serve children as guardians ad litem in abuse and neglect (dependency) cases and as defenders in juvenile delinquency cases. Legal Aid's municipal court attorneys represent indigent adult defendants in the Birmingham and Tarrant Municipal Courts. We also represent adult defendants in the Jefferson County Drug Court program.

Programs and Services

For the Indigent
Children removed from abusive homes, caught in the middle of a custody battle, or accused of crimes, and adults facing potential jail sentences, frequently have no means to secure legal representation. By providing these individuals with attorneys to guide and advise them through the legal system, the legal rights of these persons are protected.

Legal Aid can provide legal services at a rate substantially below the hourly rates of members of the private bar for several key reasons: the accessibility of its lawyers, who are always present during the day-to-day operations of the court, the familiarity of those lawyers with the issues, procedure, and personnel of those courts, the capability of its lawyers to handle individual cases without regard to hourly billing and business profits, and the commitment of these lawyers to quality legal representation for the poor.

Mission Statement: "The Legal Aid Society of Birmingham, a non-profit service organization affiliated with the Birmingham Bar Association, provides free court appointed legal representation for children and low income adults."