South Coastal Counties Legal Services - Fall River, MA

Protecting Vital Rights for Southeastern Massachusetts Families

Access to justice should never depend on financial wealth. Headquartered on Bedford Street in Fall River, South Coastal Counties Legal Services is the premier nonprofit legal aid provider serving low-income and vulnerable residents across Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties. Established in 1976 and supported by the Legal Services Corporation, the organization operates fully staffed community law offices throughout the region, ensuring that marginalized individuals and working families receive high-quality civil legal representation when their safety, shelter, and livelihoods are at risk.

The dedicated staff of attorneys, paralegals, and AmeriCorps advocates at the Fall River office focus their advocacy on critical legal challenges that directly affect family stability. By combining direct courtroom representation with community education and systemic advocacy, the program helps over 13,000 individuals each year navigate complex administrative agencies and state courts. All services are provided free of charge to eligible clients, with multilingual services available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese to reflect the diverse cultural heritage of the SouthCoast community.

Domestic Violence and Family Law Advocacy

Personal safety and economic independence are essential for households escaping abusive environments. Practicing as compassionate divorce and family law lawyers and domestic violence lawyers, the firm family law unit assists survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault:

• Domestic violence lawyers: Securing 209A abuse prevention orders, emergency protective injunctions, and safe transitional accommodations for victims and their children.
• Divorce lawyers: Representing survivors in contested and uncontested divorce proceedings to achieve legal independence and fair marital debt distributions.
• Child custody lawyers: Establishing safe, structured custody arrangements, supervised visitation orders, and legal protections that shield children from domestic trauma.
• Child support lawyers: Enforcing statutory child support determinations to ensure economic stability and reliable financial resources for single-parent households.

Housing Advocacy and Eviction Defense

Preserving safe, stable shelter is the foundation of community well-being. Operating as dedicated residential real estate lawyers for tenants, the housing unit defends low-income renters facing unlawful evictions, retaliatory rent increases, and substandard living conditions. The team represents tenants in Fall River Housing Court, helping families maintain subsidized housing vouchers, negotiate reasonable repayment plans, and enforce state sanitary code compliance against negligent landlords.

Workers Rights, Public Benefits, and Elder Law

Economic security requires fair treatment in the workplace and access to safety-net benefits. Serving as focused employment and labor lawyers, the practice protects low-wage workers from unlawful employment practices:

• Wage and hour lawyers: Recovering unpaid wages, mandatory overtime compensation, and statutory damages for victims of wage theft and unlawful deductions.
• Workplace discrimination lawyers: Advocating for employees subjected to unlawful harassment, retaliatory dismissal, or pregnancy discrimination under state and federal law.
• Public benefits and elder law: Assisting seniors and disabled residents with Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability, SNAP food benefits, and Medicare advocacy.

Community Partnership and Free Legal Assistance

Through collaborations with local shelters, healthcare providers, and volunteer bar associations, South Coastal Counties Legal Services ensures comprehensive advocacy for those who need it most. When community members urgently need a lawyer in Fall River or seek to find an attorney to overcome life-altering legal hurdles without financial cost, South Coastal Counties Legal Services stands as a cornerstone of equality and justice.