Northeast Legal Aid, Inc. (NLA) provides free civil legal services to low income clients in Northeastern Massachusetts. Northeast Justice Center (NJC) is a subsidiary of Northeast Legal Aid.  We provide services in Essex County and northern Middlesex County and have offices in Lynn, Lawrence, and Lowell. We do not charge for our legal services but clients generally must be income-eligible and our resources are limited (demand far exceeds resources).

NJC provides immigration services including family-based and humanitarian-based petitions, as well as adjustment of status and naturalization, bond hearings for individuals in detention and other removal defense services for those not detained. There is a special focus on survivors of crime, including domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, and other serious crimes (U visas; T visas; VAWA petitions; I-751 removal of conditions based on abuse; SIJ). Limited resources are available to help individuals who are not survivors of crime. A HelpLine is available to offer limited advice and information by telephone to individuals from our service area, even if their cases cannot be the subject of full representation.

Potential clients should contact the general office number to do an intake (they will check for eligibility; conflicts; etc).  If someone is calling on behalf of a detainee, they should make that clear when speaking to the intake worker.