If you live in St. Louis and can’t afford a private lawyer, you’re not alone. There are nonprofit and volunteer-lawyer programs serving low-income residents across St. Louis City and County that help with civil legal problems. This guide shows where you can turn — quickly — for legal help, what they can (and can’t) help with, and how to prepare when you call.
Major Legal Aid Organizations in St. Louis
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM)
- Who they help: Low-income individuals and families — including seniors and people with limited resources — across St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and many surrounding counties.
- What cases they take: Civil legal issues including housing and eviction defense, landlord/tenant disputes, consumer and debt problems, public benefits (Medicaid, SNAP, etc.), health-insurance access and disputes, community-housing/tenant law, family law (when there’s domestic violence or abuse), children’s legal advocacy (education, special needs, homelessness), mental-health & disability-related legal issues, and more.
- How to contact: Main office at 701 Market St., Suite 1100, St. Louis, MO 63101. Phone: 314-534-4200 or toll-free 800-444-0514. Intake hours are generally Monday–Thursday 8:30 AM–5:00 PM.
- Eligibility: Generally for low-income households (based on income/assets) or people meeting specific program requirements (e.g. seniors, people with disabilities, public-benefits recipients).
ArchCity Defenders (ACD)
ACD is a legal-advocacy organization focused on civil and criminal justice issues, targeted especially at people impacted by poverty, homelessness, or systemic injustice in St. Louis.
- Who they help: Low-income individuals, people experiencing homelessness or housing instability, and people facing both civil and criminal justice issues.
- What cases they take: Civil and municipal representation; expungements; housing-related defense; representation or support related to criminalization of poverty (municipal violations, low-level offenses, consequences tied to housing or homelessness); social-service advocacy and holistic support.
- How to contact: Phone: 314-361-8834 or 855-724-2489.
- Notes: ACD often serves clients whose situations involve overlapping civil and criminal issues, especially where poverty, housing instability, or homelessness intersects with legal problems.
Free or Low-Cost Clinics & Referral Services in St. Louis
- Monthly Legal Clinics via LSEM — LSEM offers periodic free-legal-advice clinics, including a monthly clinic at the public library (for readers/visitors) where eligible residents can get civil-law advice, referrals or limited representation.
- New Covenant Legal Services (NCLS) — Offers “low-bono” or reduced-cost legal help to individuals with limited or fixed income, especially for cases not covered by free aid: e.g. landlord/tenant disputes, consumer-debt actions, expungements, and limited-scope representation.
- Statewide/Online Option: Missouri Free Legal Answers — If you qualify, you can post civil-law questions online (housing, benefits, debt, consumer rights, family law, etc.) and get answers from volunteer attorneys, which can be a helpful starting point if you can’t get immediate in-person aid.
- Pro Bono & Volunteer Lawyer Matching (via LSEM’s Volunteer Lawyers Program or local bar-association networks) — For people who don’t qualify for legal aid or whose case types are outside standard scope, volunteer-attorney networks may offer limited or full-representation on a case-by-case basis.
What Legal Aid in St. Louis Usually Doesn’t Handle
Even with multiple good resources, there are some common limits to what free or low-cost legal aid covers in St. Louis:
- Criminal defense (felonies, serious misdemeanors) — many civil-aid providers focus on non-criminal (civil) issues. While ACD does some municipal-level representation, serious criminal defense is generally outside the scope of civil-aid programs.
- Large-scale commercial litigation or corporate/business-level disputes — legal-aid providers focus on individuals, families, or small-scale matters.
- Because demand is high and resources limited — even eligible clients sometimes receive only limited help (advice, referrals, document assistance) rather than full representation. This is especially true for non-urgent matters or complex cases.
Emergency & Urgent Legal Help in St. Louis
If you are facing an urgent legal problem — eviction, threat of homelessness, unsafe housing, domestic violence, or urgent civil-rights issues — certain programs prioritize these emergencies:
- Contact LSEM immediately — their housing-law and public-benefits programs may help with eviction defense, tenant-landlord disputes, utility shut-offs, benefit-denial appeals, or other urgent civil-legal issues.
- Call ArchCity Defenders — if your situation involves homelessness, criminalization of poverty, municipal-court issues, expungement, or overlapping civil/criminal problems. ACD is known for handling difficult, high-need cases.
- Use Missouri Free Legal Answers (online)** —** good for getting quick legal advice if you need immediate guidance and can wait for email response (e.g. tenant questions, benefits, debt, consumer issues).
- Check for upcoming free-clinic dates (LSEM or library-based)** — sometimes you can get free in-person advice or referrals without long waitlists.
How to Prepare Before You Call for Legal Aid in St. Louis
Having the right info and documents when you call can help intake staff decide quickly whether they can help you. It’s best to gather:
- Proof of income or benefits (pay stubs, benefit letters, Social Security/Medicaid, unemployment, etc.) — legal-aid programs often screen based on income or public-benefits status.
- Household information — who lives with you, how many people depend on your income, ages of household members, any disabilities or special needs.
- If housing-related: lease or rental agreement, rent-payment history, notices from landlord (eviction, repairs, warnings), photos of unsafe conditions, utility shut-off or code-violation letters.
- If benefits, debt, consumer, or family-law related: letters or notices from government agencies, creditors, landlords; court documents; debt-collection or utility-shut-off letters; medical bills; etc.
- Any upcoming deadlines: eviction date, court hearing, benefit-cut off, debt-collection deadline — urgency can influence priority for legal aid.
- A clear, simple explanation of what’s happening: timeline, who’s involved, what happened, and what outcome you need (housing, benefits, protection, debt settlement, etc.) — helps intake staff assess quickly.
Alternatives If You Don’t Qualify for Free Legal Aid
- Volunteer or reduced-cost attorneys via LSEM’s Volunteer Lawyers Program or local bar/referral networks — For people above income thresholds or with cases outside typical civil-aid scope.
- Online legal advice through Missouri Free Legal Answers — Good for simple questions, documents, forms, or initial guidance on housing, benefits, consumer, or debt issues.
- Nonprofits offering limited or low-cost services — e.g. New Covenant Legal Services — May help with landlord/tenant issues, debt or consumer problems, expungements, or other lower-complexity civil matters at reduced cost.
- Self-help resources and forms via statewide or local nonprofit sites listed on LawHelp.org or LSEM’s website — Useful if you represent yourself or need to complete paperwork on your own.
Key Takeaways
- St. Louis has a robust network of legal-aid and pro bono providers — including Legal Services of Eastern Missouri and ArchCity Defenders — offering free civil-legal help to low-income residents, tenants, immigrants, people with disabilities, and others in need.
- If you face housing issues, eviction, benefit denial, debt, consumer scams, unsafe housing, or overlapping civil/criminal-justice problems — there’s a good chance one of these groups can help you for free or very low cost.
- Emergency problems (eviction, risk of homelessness, domestic violence, urgent housing or benefit cuts) tend to be prioritized — reach out as soon as possible and have relevant documents ready.
- If you don’t qualify for full representation — volunteer-lawyer networks, low-cost legal-aid nonprofits, online advice portals, or self-help tools are viable alternatives to get legal support or guidance.
- Before calling, gather as much paperwork and documentation as you can — income proof, benefit letters, housing or debt papers, deadlines — and be ready to clearly explain what happened and what you need. That helps legal-aid staff assess and respond more efficiently.