About Us

About MVLS

Justice for All

Learn more about our mission, people, programs, and impact.

Mission & Vision
What We Do
Impact
Core Values
Board & Staff

Two MVLS clients smiling holding folder outside of MVLS clinic

Mission & Vision

Mission Statement: MVLS removes barriers to justice through free civil legal help, community engagement, and advocacy for equitable laws.

Vision Statement: Our vision is for a fair legal system that is free of injustice and equitably serves underrepresented Marylanders.

Four Decades of Providing Legal Services

Over 100,000 Marylanders Helped Since 1981

MVLS staff and volunteer lawyers, certified public accountants, and enrolled agents provide free civil legal representation to thousands of Maryland families every year who can’t afford to hire an attorney in critical civil legal cases.

MVLS leverages professional volunteers to provide pro bono representation across Maryland in civil cases such as family, housing, consumer, expungements, tax controversy and estate matters. We strive to expand legal services through our partnerships and collaborations with community partners and change laws and policies that disproportionately harm individuals experiencing financial hardship.

View MVLS 40 Year Timeline

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THE CHALLENGE

In the United States, only people charged with a criminal offense have a constitutional right to a lawyer.

There are no free public defenders for people who cannot afford a private attorney. This in spite of the fact that civil law governs some of our most basic human needs. And while the civil justice system touches all of us, it has an outsized role in the lives of people who have a low income, older adults, veterans, people with disabilities, and historically disinvested communities of color.

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THE SOLUTION

Free legal help

The most critical factor to a successful outcome is having an attorney. People are nearly 3X as likely to succeed with representation vs. without. And in a recent legal aid study, more than half of clients who received civil legal help attributed increased stability more than a decade later to the assistance they received.

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WHAT'S NEXT

Advocating for racial equality, equity, and fairness in the civil legal system.

We see first-hand that the legal system reinforces inequities and has an outsized negative impact on low income and Black and Brown communities. Our experience standing with clients in a courtroom translates into a responsibility to inform local and state lawmakers and the public discourse. MVLS has recently conducted advocacy around issues including ending tax sale, ensuring access to water, allowing people to seek criminal record expungement, and ensuring that Black legacy homeowners can transfer their homes to the next generation.

Core Values

Teamwork

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MVLS strives for a collaborative environment where all staff members, volunteers, clients, and community partners are encouraged to share ideas that further the organization’s work and where staff embrace contributing to initiatives outside their department or day to day duties.

Passion for Mission

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MVLS values a dedication to our mission of providing free civil legal help, developing and supporting community partnerships, and addressing inequity within the legal system. All actions, decisions, initiatives, and day to day activities are guided by this mission.

Commitment to Eliminating Systemic Barriers to Justice Based on Race and Economic Disparities

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MVLS will work to challenge the racist structures and barriers within the civil legal system that lead to inequitable outcomes for Black Marylanders and other communities of color. We will also continue to examine and challenge the structures within our own organization that negatively impact Black staff, job applicants, clients, volunteers, and community partners. We commit to supporting our internal Anti-Racism Committee and conducting an annual review of all internal policies as they relate to race equity.

Commitment to Clients, Volunteers and Community Partners

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MVLS has three main constituents: our clients, our volunteers, and our community partners. For our clients, we strive to provide the best possible legal representation and customer service, as well as challenge inequitable legal systems, so we can remove barriers to obtaining justice for all. For our volunteers, we want MVLS to be a welcoming, accessible place, in which we provide support to make pro bono work approachable so that they may make a meaningful impact in their MVLS client’s lives as well as on the legal system. For our community partners, we strive to be a trustworthy partner that listens to and our actions are informed by community input and follows through on our commitments. All actions and initiatives are guided by community identified needs.

Initiative

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MVLS values staff initiative and proactive ideas. Each staff member, volunteer, client, and community partner bring a unique perspective to the organization and we encourage them to offer ideas to better serve our clients and support our mission. We are committed to being flexible and adapting so that we can continue to increase our impact in the community.

Promise to our Donors

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MVLS accepts the responsibility that comes with financial support from our donors, private foundations, government funding, and other supporters. With all funds entrusted to us, we utilize each dollar to maximize help for Marylanders in need and removing barriers to justice. We also seek to work in partnership with funders to identify ways we can invest together in disinvested communities.