Montana Legal Services gets grant to help low-income residents

The Legal Services Corporation announced recently that it is awarding Montana Legal Services Association a Technology Initiative Grant in the amount of $275,706. Montana Legal Services Association will use the grant to improve legal resources for low-income Montanans. 

Since 2000, the program has distributed annual grants to legal services providers across the United States. This year, Legal Services is awarding 31 grants totaling $5.9 million to organizations in 22 states.     

“LSC is proud to promote innovative solutions to the access to justice crisis, including supporting legal aid organizations’ efforts to embrace useful technology tools,” says LSC President Ron Flagg. “The Technology Initiative Grants support projects that improve the delivery of legal services and information to people who need support navigating serious civil legal problems that impact their housing, debt, employment or family.”  

LSC has awarded 923 grants since the program’s inception—totaling more than $91 million to fund legal aid technology projects. Grant recipients have used this funding to enhance cybersecurity, build educational platforms, strengthen program capacity and support the work of pro bono attorneys.    

Montana Legal Services Association will use the grant to overhaul and redesign its most-used automated legal forms. These forms will be integrated into the organization’s LegalServer case management system and the state’s court systems. 

The goal is to provide accessible, timely legal forms to enhance the organization's efficiency and pro bono services.

Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. 

The Corporation currently provides funding to 130 independent nonprofit legal aid programs in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.